2010FM - January Magazine One

In no particular order or priority 2010FM Magazine just grabs what we like and are happy to give a quick plug to, or a whole hearted recommendation along with gushing praise, see if you can spot the difference or better still just check out the artists we feature.

Last Man Standing finally have a release date in the USA for their debut album 'False Starts and Broken Promises' and it is January 12th 2010.

Here in the UK they have received a lot of interest and some excellent reviews in the major music press. Don't just take our word for it, take a look at the review in UNCUT Magazine by Gavin Martin.

Max Vanderwolf’s band have a colorful ingenuity of Bowie’s 70’s floor shows and the wild spirit of Tom Waits- which means the are essentially rock theater, but with attitude. Stylistically they cram a lot- sometimes too much- in, but the policy usually works. This collection of bedraggled songs duly incorporates the cabaret angst of ‘70s Lou Reed, dust bowl Mariachi, and Steely Dan cynicism. Their vision of wild-hearted losers, misfits and a world in collapse somehow holds everything together. (three stars ***).

Listen:
'Queen Kong'



Website: MySpace.
MP3 Purchase: False Starts & Broken Promises

Fredrik are from Malmo Sweden and as regulars here may have noticed in the past I have a bit of a bias towards bands from Sweden basically because it is a land of musical plenty and has been for some time and some really good diversity in styles, Fredrik being another case in point.

Their most recent press release states The Swedish forest-dwelling folk visionaries' second release is here. Following their critically acclaimed debut Na Na Ni from 2008, Trilogi is a more consistently inward-looking affair and takes on themes like social realities and subconscious geography. The melodies are more serpentine and the textures decidedly darker. However, Fredrik's warm, sensitive lead voice and operatic choir work still lends the material the same comforting elegance as on the debut. Trilogi is a compilation of highly limited 3" EPs released in their home country in hand-made origami packaging. The EP's bore the titles "Holm", "Ava" and "Ner", all fictional names roughly signifying "Frozen Forest Island", "Water Through Sound" and "The Inside Underground". Together they represent a trilogy of contemporized viewpoints of the Lovecraftian dream passage - orientation at great cost and understanding at the risk of sanity.

Check them out and listen to some of their songs over on MySpace HERE. There is even more including video over on the official site is HERE. Pre-order or purchase mp3's etc via Kora Records & itunes HERE.

We have featured Emanuel & The Fear before here on Beehive Candy however they did the following apparently...

Once upon a time, in a small studio in DUMBO, an eccentric, big haired, musical genius and his Juilliard trained trumpet player had a conversation about how cool the band Deerhoof is. It went something like this:

“Hey man, now that we've finished climbing the Brooklyn Bridge, can I do an arrangement for us to cover The Perfect Me?” said the trumpet player.

“Well shiver me timbers and call me a dried up sponge monster, why the heck not!!?” replied the big haired music man with electric ecstasy.

And so the idea was born, and the trumpet player he did lay down the arrangement and the band they did practice and practice and some time later, it was finished; Emanuel and the Fear had recorded a cover of ‘The Perfect Me’.

The End. OK whatever - however the cover is rather good and they have kindly given it for us (and others) to share !

Listen:
'the perfect me'



MP3: The Perfect Me
Purchase: Self Titled EP
Website: MySpace.

Finally some advance warning about Minneapolis band Red Pens who have been creating quite s stir locally and also one helluva noise to boot ! I have just been listening to some of their music on MySpace and this band are now on the personal radar.

Their debut album REASONS is set for a February 16th, 2010 release via Minneapolis-based Grain Belt Records. With a sound that has been described as forceful and larger-than-life, it’s hard to believe that Minneapolis band Red Pens is made up of just two members—a self-taught guitarist with unconventional techniques and powerful lead vocals, and a female drummer who has mastered both percussion and painting. In addition to being dubbed “Best New Band” by hometown paper City Pages and “Minnesota’s Best Band 2009” by The Boston Phoenix, Red Pens recently received a spot on The Onion’s Twin Cities’ “Best of the Decade” list for being “one of the most buzzed-about new local bands of the year.”

More on this band another time so keep an eye on 2010FM Features. We have a lot more new music and recommendations in the pipeline and will hopefully produce a January 'part two' soon.

Pat Benatar - Seattle 1979

Lets start 2010 with some real rock energy from just over thirty years ago courtesy of Pat Benatar.

Pat's big break into music had happened a year before this concert when she headlined New York City’s famous Tramps nightclub from March 29th to April 1st, 1978, where her performance impressed representatives from several record companies.

She was signed to Chrysalis Records by founder Terry Ellis the following week."There was a long period of three years, when I spent my time taking demo tapes around and being rejected by one record company after another. Then just two days after the debut concert with the band, we were signed to a record contract..." Recorded in June and July 1979, Pat Benatar debuted the week of August 27th 1979 with the release of 'I Need A Lover' from the album 'In the Heat of the Night'.

This concert just over a year later captures Pat Benatar on classic form at the Paramount Theatre, Seattle, Washington, USA back on November 22nd, 1979.

Source: FM Broadcast

Sound Quality: Very good stereo mp3@256kbps.

Genre: Rock.

Set: Full Broadcast Set.

Set List:

1. Intro
2. If You Think You Know How To Love Me
3. So Sincere
4. I Need A Lover
5. My Clone Sleeps Alone
6. In The Heat Of The Night
7. We Live For Love
8. No You Don't
9. Just Like Me
10. Heartbreaker
11. Band Introductions
12. You Better Run
13. Come On, Let's Go

Band Line Up:

Pat Benatar - Vocals
Neil Geraldo - Guitars, Vocals, Keyboards
Scott St. Clair Sheets - Guitars, Vocals, Synthesizer
Roger Capps - Bass, Vocals
Myron Grombacher - Drums

Links: Official site HERE.

Comments:

Pat Benatar's debut album 'In the Heat of the Night' was released in October 1979, and reached Number 12. It established Pat Benatar as a new force in rock. Producer Mike Chapman, who had worked with Blondie and The Knack, broke his vow not to take on any new artists when he heard Pat Benatar's demo tape.

Mike Chapman personally produced three tracks on the album, while his long-time engineer and now independent producer, Peter Coleman (who also supervised Nick Gilder) oversaw the rest. In addition, Mike Chapman and his partner, Nicky Chinn, wrote three original songs for the LP, in addition to a rearranged version of a song they wrote for Sweet, "No You Don't".

The album also featured two songs written by Roger Capps and Pat Benatar, as well as "I Need a Lover" written by John Mellencamp, "Don't Let It Show" written by Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson. The album would be Pat Benatar's first RIAA certified platinum album.

Download link in comment below or click on the picture.

Lucy Kaplansky - Beachland Ballroom 2006.

One reviewer of this show wrote "If you've never heard Lucy Kaplansky perform before, you're in for a treat. Her songs can be dark and brooding, uplifting and joyous, personal and revealing; always satisfying.

The recording quality here gives you the sense that you're sitting in the first few rows of the hall. Download this show, put on a good pair of headphones, and re-live an extraordinary evening with a superb singer-songwriter".

As audience recordings go this is better than some soundboard copies of shows I have heard. There are a few level issues on track one that are quickly fixed, apart from that this is a superb recording. Performing live in concert at The Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland, Ohio, USA on the 10th February 2006 this is Lucy Kaplansky.

Source: Audience (Studio Projects C4's, cards, DIN, 3' right of center, 25' back, 6.5' high).

Sound Quality: Very good stereo mp3@320kbps.

Genre: Folk, singer songwriter.

Set: Full Set.

Track List:

Set One:

01. God Will
02. Written On The Back Of His Hand
03. The Tide
04. Ten Year Night
05. Cold Missouri Waters
06. The Red Thread
07. Don't Mind Me
08. Manhattan Moon
09. I've Just Seen A Face

Set Two:

01. If I Needed You
02. Title Missing
03. Line In The Sand
04. I'm Looking Through You
05. For Once In Your Life
06. Brooklyn Train
07. Blue Chalk
08. On An Asteroid With You
09. The Heart
10. This Is Home
(encore)
11. Still Life

Links: Official site HERE.

Comments:

Lucy Kaplansky was originally from Chicago, and at the age of 18, decided not to go to college, and moved to New York City. She became involved in the city's folk music scene, particularly around Greenwich Village, where she played with, among others, Suzanne Vega, Shawn Colvin and Richard Shindell.

In 1983, she decided to become a psychologist, enrolling in Yeshiva University. She continued playing music while doing her PhD, and began to have some success as part of a duo with Shawn Colvin. However, when they began to attract record company interest, Lucy Kaplansky declined, choosing instead to set up a private practice and become a staff psychologist at a New York hospital. For several years, she concentrated largely on her work, and played little in the way of concerts. However, she still did some session work, such as singing backing vocals in the studio for Suzanne Vega.

By the early 1990s she found herself increasingly drawn back to music. Shawn Colvin, who by this time had experienced some commercial success, offered to produce an album for her. The result, The Tide, a mixture of her own songs and several covers, was released by Red House Records in 1994. At this time, she decided to give up her psychology practice, and return to music full-time. She released four more albums before her most recent, Over The Hills, was released in 2007.

Download links (two) in comment below.

New Riders Of The Purple Sage - San Francisco 1971 (IA)

From the Internet Archive (IA) this is the New Riders Of The Purple Sage live at the Fillmore West, San Francisco, USA back on the 2nd July 1971.

The group emerged from the psychedelic rock scene in San Francisco in 1969, and its original lineup included members of the Grateful Dead.

After a few warm up gigs throughout the Bay Area in 1969, the New Riders (for all intents and purposes John Dawson and David Nelson) began to tour in May 1970 as opening act with the Grateful Dead. This relationship continued on a regular basis until December 1971. Throughout much of 1970, the Dead would open with an acoustic set that often included John Dawson and David Nelson before segueing into the New Riders and then the electric Dead.

By the time the New Riders recorded their first album in late 1970, change was in the air. Dave Torbert, a young Bay Area musician, replaced Phil Lesh. After Mickey Hart went on sabbatical from music in early 1971, Spencer Dryden (from Jefferson Airplane) began a ten-year relationship with the group as their drummer, and eventually manager. The first album, eponymously titled, was released on Columbia Records in late 1971 and was a moderate success. Featuring all John Dawson songs, the record was driven by Jerry Garcia's inventive pedal-steel playing.

With the New Riders desiring to become more of a self-sufficient group and Jerry Garcia needing to focus on his other responsibilities, the musician parted ways with the group in November 1971. Sadly John 'Marmaduke' Dawson passed away on the 21st of July this year.

Source: FM Broadcast.

Sound Quality: Very good stereo.

Genre: Country Rock

Set: Full Set.

Track List:

0. Tuning In & Intro
1. Workingman's Blues
2. Superman
3. I Don't Know You
4. Down In The Boondocks
5. Dirty Business
6. Glendale Train
7. Portland Women
8. Henry
9. Sailin'
10. Last Lonely Eagle
11. Louisiana Lady
12. Honky Tonk Women
13. The Weight

Band Line Up:

John Dawson - rhythm guitar, vocals
David Nelson - lead guitar, vocals
David Torbert - bass, vocals
Jerry Garcia - pedal steel guitar
Spencer Dryden - drums

Links: Official site HERE.

Comments:

A few of the tracks from this date circulate (from the soundboard mix) on the official re-release of the Riders debut LP. The New Riders archivist, Rob Bleetstein, gave permission for the safe 'on-line' release of this FM version of those songs (February 2005). Click HERE for download options (mp3 & OGGVORBIS from the Internet Archive site).

Play:

Leonard Cohen - Royal Albert Hall 1988

This is Leonard Cohen live at the Royal Albert Hall, London, England back on the 30th May 1988.

The performance was recorded by the BBC (from their own soundboard) but never subsequently broadcast.

In 1987, Jennifer Warnes's tribute album Famous Blue Raincoat helped restore Leonard Cohen's career in the USA and the following year he released 'I'm Your Man', which marked a drastic change in his music. Synthesizers ruled the album and Leonard Cohen's lyrics included more social commentary and dark humour. It was Leonard Cohen's most acclaimed and popular since Songs of Leonard Cohen. "First We Take Manhattan" and the title song have become two of his most popular songs.

Source: Soundboard (BBC).

Sound Quality: Very good stereo mp3@192kbps.

Genre: Folk, folk rock, blues.

Set: Full Set*.

Track List:

01 Dance Me To The End Of Love
02 Ain't No Cure For Love
03 Who By Fire
04 Bird On The Wire
05 I'm Your Man
06 Sisters Of Mercy
07 Coming Back To You
08 First We Take Manhattan
09 Chelsea Hotel
10 Tower Of Song
11 The Stranger Song
12 If It Be Your Will
13 Everybody Knows
14 Joan Of Arc
15 Hallelujah
16 There Is A War
17 Take This Waltz
18 The Partisan
19 Suzanne
20 Passin' Through
-- Encore
21 I Tried To Leave You
22 Whither Thou Goest
23 So Long, Marianne
*One song is missing as Avalanche was played prior to Chelsea Hotel.

Band Line Up:

Leonard Cohen - vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboards
Perla Batalla - vocals
Julie Christensen - vocals
Bob Metzger - guitars, steel guitar
John Bilezikjian - oud
Bob Furgo - keyboards, violin
Tom McMorran - keyboards
Steve Zirkel - bass, keyboard, trumpet
Steve Meador - drums, electric drums

Links: Official site HERE.

Comments:

Leonard Cohen is set to be honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010. His recent touring has seen a significant rekindling of interest in his wonderful music, and his performances have been sublime. Two new live albums are now available and worth checking out. One is from his seminal performance at the Isle Of Wight festival in 1970, the other from his recent tour (Live In London 2009).

Reloaded - 29/May/2015 - download link in comments.

Buy: Mp3's at Amazon.co.uk - Leonard Cohen