Sunburst Finish by Be-Bop Deluxe

Sunburst Finish is the third studio album by art rock band Be-Bop Deluxe, released in February 1976 and is now being re-released on November 23, 2018, as a three-CD and 1 DVD set by the Esoteric Records label.  Recorded in the Autumn of 1975 at Abbey Road studios (with some sessions also taking place at AIR studios in London), Sunburst Finish was the first to feature the line-up of Bill Nelson (vocals, guitars, keyboards), Charlie Tumahai (bass, vocals), Andy Clark (keyboards) and Simon Fox (drums) and features such classic material as Heavenly Homes, Crying to the Sky, Sleep that Burns, Life in the Air Age, Crystal Gazing and Blazing Apostles. This album also spawned the hit single Ships in the Night.  This expanded reissue has been newly re-mastered from the original master tapes and features an additional 17 bonus tracks drawn from a stunning new stereo mix from the original multi-track tapes by award-winning engineer Stephen W. Tayler and previously unreleased out-takes from the album sessions.  I was quite impressed with how well this album was written, recorded, performed and produced.  I highly recommend that you take a listen to this album and I am sure you will want to add this to your library.  This collection is available from Amazon, Cherry Red Records, and other outlets where CD’s and digital downloads are sold.

Red Sun Rising with dube and Spirit Animal at Capone’s in Johnson City, Tennessee

Last night I attended an amazing show by Red Sun Rising with opening acts dube and Spirit Animal at Capone’s in Johnson City, Tennessee.  The first band to hit the stage was Ontario, Canada unsigned indie grunge band dube consisting of brothers Jan on bass and lead vocal, Liam on guitar and vocals and Quinn on drums and vocals.  I was impressed with their great vocals and harmonies, amazing guitar riffs and driving drum beats.  They did a great job warming up the crowd.  Next up was Brooklyn, New York based band Spirit Animal  consisting of Steve Cooper  on vocals, Cal Stamp on lead guitar, Paul Michel on bass, and Ronen Evron on drums has been compared to Talking Heads, The Black Keys, Faith No More, and Red Hot Chili Peppers with their great vocals and harmonies as well as their guitar and drum backup with tracks from their recent album Born Yesterday on the Atlantic Records label.  They also did a great job getting the crowd ready for the headliners an American rock band from Akron, Ohio Red Sun Rising which consists of members Mike Protich on lead vocals, guitar, Ryan Williams on lead guitar, Dave McGarry on rhythm guitar, backing vocals, Ricky Miller on bass, backing vocals and Pat Gerasia on drums.  They gave this crowd an exciting performance as they played tracks from their Razor and Tie Records label albums Polyester Zeal and Thread.  I enjoyed their performance and looking forward to seeing them again.  I got a chance to meet and talk with members of the bands and found them interested in their fans especially the band dube.  I managed to get both of my CDs signed by the members of Red Sun Rising and autographs from all the members of dube.  I got most of the signatures from Spirit Animal, but other than the lead vocalist, they were not out there meeting the crowd.  Finally, I want to thank Capone’s owner Tommy for making my visit to Capone’s a great experience with friendly staff, great service, and nice surroundings.  I am looking forward to the next event I attend at this venue.

 

WANNA PARTY! 4 The Holidays! by Various Artists

WANNA PARTY! 4 the Holidays! is the ultimate Pop holiday album, being the fourth volume in the ever-growing popular WANNA PARTY! Pop compilation series.  This Volume is twentieth  of the hottest new Holiday classics dedicated to celebrating the special times in the year, including Christmas, New Years, Thanksgiving, Birthdays, Anniversaries & any times were giving thanks, with family & friends and even hotter than the NOW series, as it gives true music lovers a chance to be a leader, & hear tomorrow’s stars & hits today, being on the cutting edge of breaking talent with such  pop, soul and country tracks as It’s Christmas by Black Canvas, Everybody’s Happy To Be Home by Grainne Ni Mhaille,  Kissing Christmas by NAKD, Without You (It’s Not Christmas by Nassim, Tangled In The Christmas Lights by Cody Joe Hodges and so much more.  I was impressed with how well this album was compiled, written, recorded, produced and performed.  This holiday compilation is available from Amazon, Itunes and other outlets in CD and digital downloads.

Tim Morse III by Tim Morse

Tim Morse III is the third album by keyboardist Tim Morse featuring songs about spiritual epiphanies, longing, friendship and loss released October 5, 2018, on the Cymbalick Music Records label.  Listening to this album, I hear the styles of classic bands such as Genesis and Yes with its great keyboard work, amazing vocals and guitar performances on such tracks as Wake Up, The Marquis, My Ally and much more.  I was impressed with how well this album was written, recorded, performed and produced. The CD and digital download are currently available from CD Baby, Itunes, Amazon and other outlets.  There will be a limited edition vinyl LP release of the album in January 2019.  Anyone ordering CDs or LPs on timmorse.com will get a free promotional bonus disc with cover songs, demos, alternate tracks, etc.

Bad Omens With 1134 And Glass Idols at Capone’s in Johnson City, Tennessee

For my 993rd review, last night I  attended the show by Bad Omens with opening acts 1134 and Glass Idols at Capone’s in Johnson City, Tennessee.  The first band to hit the stage was 1134, a metalcore band from Johnson City, Tennessee with their unclean vocals, heavy guitar and bass riffs and driving drum beats. I was amazed by their original tracks and this was the first time I have had the opportunity to hear this band and I was quite impressed.  This morning I listened to their EP simply called 1134 with the tracks Burn Like The Phoenix, When The Wolfbane Blooms, Bound, and Keep it Chaotic and was impressed with their sound as well as how well it was written and recorded. They will be returning to Capone’s on December 22 as headliners and would love to return and see them again.  Next up on the stage was Glass Idols, a progressive metal band from Greenville, Tennessee.  This band continued the energy with its unclean vocals, driving guitar riffs and powerful drum beats.  This is the first time I also heard this band and was impressed with their performance and how they take time to talk to their fans.  I also listened to their eight track CD called Wrath this morning and enjoyed it from start to finish, even though I am unable to tell you the names of the tracks since they are listed on this CD, that might be something they will want to include when they release their next CD.  Finally to hit the stage after having transportation problems and arrived just in time for their headliner performance was Bad  Omens, an American metalcore band from Los Angeles, California. consisting of frontman Noah Sebastian, guitarist Nicholas Ruffilo, bassist Vincent Riquier, guitarist Joakim “Jolly” Karlsson, and drummer Nick Folio. They played tracks from their debut album and did a great performance and I was thrilled that Nick, the drummer remembered me.  I finally was able to get my last signature on the Bad Omens debut album which I was missing from the last performance when they opened for Trivium.  While waiting for Bad Omen to hit the stage I had the opportunity to talk with the members of 1134 and Glass Idols and was able to get the bands autographs.  I also had the opportunity to meet one of the members of the band Seasons Of Me, which will be playing at Capone’s on December 1^st, and also the disc jockey that occasionally plays at Capone’s named Party McFly.  Finally, I want to thank Capone’s owner Tommy for making my visit to Capone’s a great experience with friendly staff, great food, nice surroundings.  I am looking forward to my next visit to Capone’s this Sunday when I will be going there to see the band Red Sun Rising.

 

 

Christmas (Take A Ride) by Mitch Ryder

Celebrate the holiday season with one of the most distinctive voices in rock history, the brilliant Mitch Ryder, who is the voice of Mitch Ryder And The Detroit Wheels with such classics as Devil With A Blue Dress, Sock It to Me, Baby and Jenny Take A Ride! presents his Christmas Album Christmas (Take A Ride) in which he breathes new life into twelve holiday classics that was released October 26, 2018, on the Cleopatra Records label.  This album features such Christmas classics as Blue Christmas, Jingle Bell Rock, Let It Snow, Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) and much more.  This holiday release was well arranged, recorded and performed.  This is something new for you to enjoy this holiday season and is available from Amazon, Itunes and other outlets where CD’s and digital downloads are sold.

Christmas in Valhalla by Thor

Christmas In Valhalla is the ultimate metalhead stocking stuffer.  This is the very first holiday album from legendary metal Viking Thor that is released October 26. 2018 from the Deadline Music Records label, a division of Cleopatra Records.  This album features nine original Christmas songs that are sure to become headbanging classics with such tracks as Slay Rider, Lend Me Your Ears, If Tomorrow Never Comes, Our Last Christmas (an awesome ballad) and so much more. This is my third review for this awesome band from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada that has been releasing albums and rocking concert halls since 1973.  They still have that driving sound and still impressed with their songwriting abilities as well as how well this album was recorded, produced, and performed.  If you are tired of hearing the same old thing every Christmas, then this is an album you will want to add to your library and purchase from Amazon, Itunes, Bandcamp and all other outlets where CD’s and digital downloads are sold.

Yesterday and Today: 50th Anniversary Tribute To Yes by Various Artists

Yesterday and Today: 50th Anniversary Tribute To Yes is a tribute album to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the legendary progressive rock band Yes which features current Yes bass player Billy Sherwood and current vocalist Jon Davison as well as guest artists Steve Hackett, Marco Minnemann, Tony Kaye, Jay Schellen, Nick D’Virgilio, Robert Berry, Francis Dunnery, Leslie Hunt, Marisol Koss, Pat Sansone, Randy McStine, Robin Schell, and Sally Minnear.  Some of the highlights include six members of Curved Air’s newly recorded full band version of Soon as well as the current bass player in YES, Billy Sherwood re-recorded the Chris Squire’s signature bass track, The Fish, and current lead singer Jon Davison performed on an acoustic medley.  This album features such Yes classics as Long Distance Runaround, Starship Trooper, Yours Is No Disgrace and much more.  I was disappointed that such Yes hits such as Roundabout, Owner Of A Lonely Heart and others were not on this tribute but it was still well recorded, performed and produced.  This great tribute was released November 9, 2018, on the Cherry Red Records label and is available for purchase from Amazon, Cherry Red records and other outlets

Glory Sound Prep by Jon Bellion

After his amazing success with his June 10, 2016 debut album Human Condition, Jon Bellion is back with his digital download November 9, 2018 album Glory Sound Prep on the Capitol Records label.  Throughout the 10-track sophomore album, Bellion seamlessly intertwines sounds of pop, R&B, hip-hop, and rock through his electrifying songs with such tracks as Conversations With My Wife, JT, Stupid Deep, Cautionary Tales, Mah’s Joint (which he collaborated with legendary producer Quincy Jones) and so much more.  He still has that great sound that made his debut album a success and this album was well written, recorded, performed and produced.  The CD version of this album is scheduled for release on November 30, 2018, through Amazon and other retailers and the vinyl version on blue colored vinyl will be available in January 2019 through his website https://shop.jonbellion.com/  and other outlets.  I already preordered my vinyl copy of this album and will be the second colored vinyl album of his that I will have in my library.  My copy of The Human Condition is on clear vinyl.

 

Ends Meeting by David Cross & Andrew Booker

Ends Meeting is the November 2, 2019 release by David Cross and Andrew Booker on the Cherry Red UK Records label.  David Cross was a member of King Crimson during the 1970s and Andrew Booker was a member of Sanguine Hum and Peter Banks’s Harmony in Diversity. This previously unreleased studio album was recorded in 2006 but had not seen a release until now. The seven tracks on this album showcase the talents of Cross and Booker and shows how well they work together on such tracks as Loopscape A, Sleek, Worship the Grounds, the title track Ends Meeting and more.  This progressive album was well written, recorded and performed and is available from Amazon, Itunes and other outlets where CD’s and digital downloads are sold.