SPAZ Reviews DOG TRUMPET's Medicated Spirits!

DOG TRUMPET

MEDICATED SPIRITS

BUY at IMPORTCDS.COM

BUY at DEEPDISCOUNT.COM

For a quick rundown on Dog Trumpet, please see my earlier post about them HERE.

         For over 35 years, Reg Mombassa and Peter O'Doherty have been creating some of the most distinctive music in Australian history.  While they were two-fifths of Australian legends Mental As Anything from 1976 to 2000, they were crucial to that band's success. Martin Plaza (guitar and vocals) and Greedy Smith (keyboards and vocals) may have been in the spotlight a bit more, but Reg's slide guitar and Peter's inventive bass playing helped to create and fuel the Mental's unique sound.  The fact that Reg and Peter wrote plenty of songs for the band only solidified their standing as two of Australia's premiere talents.  When The Mentals went on hiatus at the end of the '80s, Reg and Peter formed Dog Trumpet. Their debut album, Two Heads One Brain (1991), continued in the Mentals tradition of expertly produced Roots Rook/Pop.  The Mentals got back on track in the mid '90s but that didn't stop Dog Trumpet from releasing their next album, Suitcase, in 1996.  Reg and Pete left Mental As Anything in 2000 in order to focus on Dog Trumpet and their art projects.  The duo released three more albums from 2002 to 2010 (Dog Trumpet, Antisocial Tendencies and River Of Flowers), all of which were gloriously unique and inspiring. 

Now, three years on from River Of Flowers, Reg and Peter have released their masterpiece - Medicated Spirits.

While it's not entirely different from their last few albums, the duo have come up with their finest batch of songs to date and released in as a double album... on two CDs! It doesn't get much better than this, to be honest.  19 songs and every one of them a gem. Reg and Peter don't just write Pop songs - they paint aural pictures that they fill in with different shades, colors and genres. But with that being said, the tracks are still very earthy and warm. The charm in Dog Trumpet's music is that there is such beauty in their simplicity.  Dog Trumpet sound like no one else and that is a rarity in this day and age. The album is awash with acoustic instruments and delicious harmonies that offer up an almost magical feel to each track. This isn't music created to shift units - it is music that connects with the listener on many different levels.  Shifting units is just a plus. Fans of Alt-Country, Pop, Rock 'n' Roll, Blues and Folk would do themselves a favor by clicking on one of the links above and buying Medicated Spirits immediately

Highlights: 

     The album's opener, the instrumental "Elizabethan", is similar in spirit and style to some of Paul McCartney's early '70s instrumental pieces on the McCartney album. Yes, it's that good.  

     "Speed Of Light" kicks things up a notch with it's heavy fuzz bass and Psychedelic Folk groove. Peter's affinity for Psych-influenced melodies is immediately apparent here.  

     Reg's "Made In The World" is a catchy Blues/Folk ditty with a keen Pop sense to it  You will find yourself singing this track to yourself and your friends for weeks afterwards (and MY friends can verify because that's just what I've been doing since I first played the album!)

      "Bored Wife" has been one of my favorite Dog Trumpet songs since it appeared on an EP two decades ago.  They've re-recorded it for this project and it has lost none of it's emotive power in this new updated version.  It is touching and melancholic, although a bit more raw and loose.  

     "Ray Davies And The Kinks" sounds nothing like Ray Davies and The Kinks although the lyrics paint a glorious picture of a road trip listening to Ray and the boys, and that is just as fun.  More Muswell Hillbillies than Kinda Kinks, its a track that will earn repeated listenings on your next road trip.  Who needs Ray when you have Reg?

     "Methylated Spirit" has a wonderful hook that is accented by some fantastic harmony vocals that sound almost other-worldly. 

     "What Falls Away" is a splendid Pop song from top to bottom.  Again, the backing vocals really help make the song the perfectly constructed recording that it is. 

     "Camel Rock" features fantastic lead vocals by band member Bernie Hayes, a performance that now has me trying to track down his two solo albums. Hayes gave a stellar vocal performance on "Bloomsbury Birds" from their album Antisocial Tendencies as well.  

     "Broke In Many Parts", "Tell Me" and "Moon And Star" have some of the prettiest melodies that Peter has written.

     While they don't sound like old Mentals recordings, songs like "Telegraph Pole" and "Arriving At The End" wouldn't sound out of place on their albums Get Wet and Espresso Bongo. 

     I could go on and talk about every single track on the album, but my goal here is to inspire you to run out and buy Medicated Spirits, not to bore you with my personal love affair with this double disc delight.  Dog Trumpet have recorded the best album of their career thus far as well as one of the best albums of the year.  Not bad for a couple of fellas who've been doing this for nearly 40 years... not bad at all!

Peace, love and puppies,
Stephen SPAZ Schnee

10 Reasons Why You Should Be Excited About A NEW Album From DOG TRUMPET!

DOG TRUMPET 

Is

REG MOMBASSA

and 

PETER O'DOHERTY

Dog Trumpet has a NEW double (2CD) album due on August 12th, 2013. It is called Medicated Spirits. You can purchase it through their website HERE. 

Why should you care?  

Here are 10 very valid reasons:

• Because Dog Trumpet features two enormously talented singer/songwriters who also happen to be two of Australia's finest artists. 

• Reg did the artwork for PiL's Greatest Hits album!

• For 20+ years, Reg and Peter used to be members of one of Australia's finest Pop combos, MENTAL AS ANYTHING. 

•  Mental As Anything did THIS song (btw, that's Reg on slide guitar and Peter on bass):

• Reg and Peter are brothers. 

• Reg Mombassa is one of the coolest names in Rock. But alas, it is not his real name.  I reckon those who have known him since he was a wee lad probably still call him Chris O'Doherty.  

• Peter O'Doherty is NOT Pete Doherty, the drug addicted dickhead from The Libertines and Babyshambles.  Peter O'Doherty is the melodically-gifted basshead from Dog Trumpet. And formerly of Mental As Anything. 

• Dog Trumpet has already released five albums:

Two Heads One Brain (1991)

Suitcase (1996)

Dog Trumpet (2002)

Antisocial Tendencies (2007)

River Of Flowers (2010)

• Their 2013 release, Medicated Spirits, is a double album (on two CDs). Not many bands have enough quality material for one album, let alone a double.

• Dog Trumpet has released some amazing material in their 20+ year career.  Including songs such as these: 

So, what are you waiting for?  Time to head over to www.dogtrumpet.com and order Medicated Spirits.

You can purchase it through their website HERE. 

Looking Back: SPAZ reviews THE BUSBOYS!

Looking Back:

THE BUSBOYS

Brian O'Neal (keyboards, vocals) 

Kevin O'Neal (bass, vocals)

Gus Louderman (vocals)

Mike Jones (keyboards, vocals)

Victor Johnson (guitar)

Steve Felix (drums)

In my opinion, one of the most exciting eras in Rock history was the late '70s and early '80s.  It seemed that every major city had it's own 'scene' and Los Angeles had one of the most vibrant and diverse music scenes in the world.  From Punk to Power Pop, New Wave to Post-Punk, Los Angeles gave us some of the finest bands of the era including X, 20/20, The Plimsouls, The Dickies, The Nerves, The Knack, The Germs, The Last, Jules & The Polar Bears, The Bangles, The Three O'Clock, The Plugs, The Go-Go's, etc.  One of the most overlooked was perhaps the one that stood out the most: The Busboys.

You see, an African-American New Wave/Rock combo was not exactly common in Los Angeles or anywhere else in the world.  However, The Busboys, fronted by main vocalist and keyboardist Brian O'Neal, just wanted to play Rock 'n' Roll and they certainly did it just as well (if not better) than their contemporaries. Thinking about it now, why was being an African-American in a New Wave Rock band such a novelty at the time?  I mean, think of Rock's greatest guitar players and Jimi Hendrix automatically comes to mind, right?  Well, Jimi just happened to be African-American, so why even think twice about Brian and the 'boys playing some good ol' American Rock 'n' Roll?  As for me, my parents never brought up race or color into the equation when we were kids so we accepted everyone equally. I was too young to know about prejudice when all the race issues were happening in the '60s, so I must have been a bit sheltered from that way of thinking. To be honest, I think I first learned about racism and bigotry on All In The Family!

But anyway, when The Busboys signed a deal with Arista, it was because of their obvious talents, not because of the race issue.  And judging by their two albums, the band were certainly aware of people's perceptions of them and they poked fun at the whole thing, lyrically.  But the fact of the matter is, The Busboys wrote some great tunes and released two extremely memorable albums that I still cherish to this day. Their music has consistently appeared on numerous mixtapes I've made over the last 30 years on cassette and CD-R.  And with crackin' good tunes like "Did You See Me", "Last Forever", "American Worker", "Soul Surfing USA" and loads of others, they deserve to take their rightful place in the history books...

Oh, I almost forgot to mention the most important part - The Busboys did manage to have a couple of memorable hits with "The Boys Are Back In Town" (from the soundtrack to 48 Hours) and "Cleanin' Up The Town" (from Ghostbusters) although neither of these songs can be found on their two Arista albums. 

Here, I'll take a brief look at their first two albums... both of which I am very fond of!

THE BUSBOYS

MINIMUM WAGE ROCK & ROLL (1980)

When the band released their debut album, it caused a little bit of a stir.  Why on earth would an African-American band sing lyrics like "I bet you never heard music like this by spades!" and extol the virtues of working for minimum wage... and feature one of their members on the cover dressed as a busboy/waiter?  Well, folks, that was part of the fun.  They played against stereotypes by acknowledging the stereotype in the first place!  All the guys wanted to do was play music, and they were pretty damn fine at creating short, snappy tunes that carried a message without raising their fists in the air and taking pot shots at the white man. The Busboys didn't need to rely on their skin color to be accepted.  Just listen to "Did You See Me", "Minimum Wage", "We Stand United", "Dr. Doctor", "Anggie" and others to hear some great tunes.  While songs like "There Goes The Neighborhood" and "KKK" may have shocked folks at first, they were soon won over by the hooks the song provided. Soon enough, people forgot about their skin color and let the music do the talking.  And that is the ultimate compliment to Brian and the 'boys.  A classic debut.  (The album was issued as a limited edition CD but looks to be deleted at the moment)

THE BUSBOYS

AMERICAN WORKER (1982)

It was another two years before The Busboys hit the shops with their second album. Produced by Pete Solley, American Worker was a slicker, more commercial album than its predecessor but that works in the album's favor. The sound is bigger and the band really sound like they are having fun.  They manage to touch on a variety of styles including New Wave, Reggae, Blues, Soul and Pure Pop without losing any of their charm.  Highlights include the Springsteen-esque "Last Forever", the gorgeous '60s Pop of "Soul Surfing USA", the hard bluesy Rock of "New Shoes", the Reggae-fied "Opportunity", the pure pop of "Falling In Love" and their pre-Huey Lewis version of "Heart & Soul" (for the record, I think Brian is more sympathetic to the song's vocal melody, making this the definitive version).  While the album was as fresh and energetic as the first album, it certainly made up for it in many other ways.  No sophomore slump here, folks!

Peace, love and Busboys

Stephen SPAZ Schnee

JC BROOKS & THE UPTOWN SOUND/Howl: Available May 21st, 2013!

JC BROOKS & THE UPTOWN SOUND

HOWL

5.21.13

"...enveloping stage presence and palpable charisma." 

--Rolling Stone

"JC Brooks looks and performs like a cross between Chuck Berry and H.R. of Bad Brains in their primes, but his skintight R&B and post-punk soul upend expectations of a retro act." 

 --Washington Post

"Brooks trained as an actor, and even by soul man standards he's an outsized showman (with an equally outsized pompadour), shimmying, swiveling, sliding and jumping around the stage, his singing ranging from Otis Redding raspiness to Curtis Mayfield falsetto sweetness." 

--Chicago Tribune

"JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound describe themselves as a post-punk soul band, but their sound is so much more expansive than that. Uptown Sound is on par with soul musicians from the heyday of the genre’s popularity." 

--Paste Magazine

With their forthcoming release Howl, JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound enters the next chapter of its soul sound evolution. In December 2012, the band holed up at Hotel2Tango Studio in Montreal to work with producer Howard Bilerman (Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade, Godspeed You! Black Emperor) and dove headfirst into previously unfamiliar sonic territories and tough-yet-transfixing lyrical matter. By approaching the new album with this direct and free outlook, what began with the raw soul of 2011’s Want More advances in new, exciting directions.

Throughout Howl – the Chicago-based quintet’s third full-length album and second for Bloodshot Records – the dark side of love and longing is explored by frontman JC Brooks’s starkly personal lyrics and the Uptown Sound’s willingness to bare all their influences and let the grooves fall where they may. A collective evolution has been made where influence meets experience, and this organic progression results in 11 songs that are more open than ever both in message and vibe.

Howl is soul music by children of the post-punk era. It’s the sound of a band that cut its teeth listening to Purple Rain and In On the Killtaker, is drawn to the theatrical-cum-creative auras of Tina Turner and Otis Redding, and has most recently hustled big festival stages where adventurous listeners come away rejuvenated and undeniably converted.

With a taut minimalist blend of rock and R&B punctuating JC Brooks’s potent delivery and brutally honest words, Howl creates a mystique at the same time it induces sing-alongs and hip-shakes. Tracks like the eponymous “Howl” and “Rouse Yourself” are pleas for snapping out of emotional apathy, as in the latter when Brooks first coos in falsetto and then belts a cautionary chorus in harmony, “If we had forever / I hope we’d just get better / that’s why it’s such a shame / the ways we stay the same.”

Just as it embraces past artistic influences, Howl covers the range of emotion from celebratory pop to crestfallen ballad. “River” is vintage gospel narrative, complete with Brooks’s solo show-stopping, open-throated vocal sear, and a rhythm section that could’ve backed the Memphis greats during the ‘60s. “Before You Die” struts with the carefree, party atmosphere of Tom Tom Club with auxiliary percussion, handclaps, and some Bernie Worrell psychedelic-pop wall of synth.

Formed in Chicago in 2007, JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound consists of JC Brooks (lead vocals), Billy Bungeroth (guitar), Kevin Marks (drums, vocals), Andy Rosenstein (keys, vocals), and Ben Taylor (bass). JCBUS has toured North America and Europe, attracting an enthusiastic grassroots following while garnering the support of the likes of NPRand AAA radio with their eyeopening cover of Wilco’s “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart” (which they performed with Jeff Tweedy at Wilco’s Solid Sound Festival in 2011). MOJO Magazine called them “one of the hottest US soul acts right now”. JCBUS spent 2012 on the road supporting their previous Bloodshot release, Want More, with electrifying appearances at Lollapalooza and Bumbershoot, and an incendiary World Cafe Live double bill with Gary Clark Jr.Now armed with Howl, the band is hitting the road for spring East and West Coast tours, and a European leg leading up to Firefly Festival in June.

THE EDEN HOUSE/Half Life: Available June 4th, 2013!

THE EDEN HOUSE - Half Life

The long-awaited new album from this gothic-prog rock band.

 Features an array of guests, including vocalists Lee Douglas (Anathema) and Monica Richards (Faith & the Muse), guitarists Phil Manzanera (Roxy Music) and Simon Hinkler (The Mission).

The London-based Gothic/Prog Rock/Trip-Hop band The Eden Houserelease a new single and album on CD, 180g vinyl LP and download, four years after their acclaimed debut album ‘Smoke & Mirrors’.  

The Eden House is a collaborative project based around the nucleus of Stephen Carey, ex-Adoration, and Tony Pettitt, the Fields of the Nephilim founder bassist who last month rejoined the band.  The pair have attracted an eclectic selection of guest artists on their recordings, each adding their diverse talents to the music. 

‘Half Life’ utilises six female lead vocalists, including Lee Douglas (from Anathema), Jordan Reyne, Laura Bennett and Monica Richards (of US band Faith & The Muse).  Guesting musicians include guitarists Phil Manzanera (Roxy Music) and Simon Hinkler (The Mission) along with top violinist Bob Loveday.

Over the past four years the band have gigged widely across the UK and Europe, including headlining festivals in Germany, Belgium, Poland and the UK.  Two maxi-EPs were issued in the interim: ‘The Looking Glass’paired with a DVD live studio performance, and the ‘Timeflows’mini-album in 2012. 

A London album live launch event is scheduled for June 9^that the Kings Cross Lexington and they headline the Sacrosanct Festival in Berkshire on 28^th September.  A new series of gigs is planned for the autumn.

PROG ROCK PARADISE:Double CD sets remind listeners of Poland's mighty Progressive Rock scene!

When the average music listener thinks of Prog Rock, most likely the bands Yes, Genesis, Emerson Lake & Palmer and King Crimson spring to mind first.  The more 'educated' music fan (ie: geek) will probably throw in names like Van Der Graaf Generator, Gentle Giant and maybe some more modern acts like Marillion and Dream Theater.  But, like any music scene, things get exciting when you look beyond the U.S. and UK shores and start digging deeper into bands from other countries like Italy, Germany and Poland. While English lyrics may grace most of the releases, some of the bands do sing in their native tongue. But isn't it the music and musicianship that matters most?

Metal Mind Productions is a Polish label and one of the finest Rock/Prog/Metal labels in the universe. Whether you love Thrash Metal, Death Metal, classic Heavy Metal, AOR or Prog, Metal Mind has something you'll slobber over.  Yes, they did sign a band by the name of Anal Stench (insert your favorite 'stink' joke here) but they also handled some amazing reissues by AOR and classic Metal bands like Giuffria, Boulevard, Lillian Axe and Tank.  In fact, their catalog is so varied that its always exciting to see what they release next.  You may not love everything on the label, but there's something for everybody to love.

Some may love to scan the radio dials and look for something 'new' to listen to.  Others may want to read Rolling Stone or Pitchfork to stay on top of the latest musical trends.  Me?  I just love to hear as much as possible in any way that I can. And yes, I am very blessed to be able to listen to a lot of different things each week, whether they are new artists or reissues. With that being said, Metal Mind is a label I'll always pay attention to.  I don't like all of it, but I appreciate the fact that they exist and they are great at doing what they do.  With each of their releases that I'm lucky to get a hold of, I listen and I learn.

Being a relative newcomer to their catalog, I was over the moon when they released a batch of 2CD sets that contained a pair of albums by some of Poland's greatest Prog Rock artists: SBB, Collage, Satellite and Believe. These 2CD sets are reasonably... no, make that incredibly... priced and should be snapped up by anyone wishing to expand their musical horizons, Prog Rock or otherwise.

SBB

SBB are one of Poland's longest-lasting Prog bands, originally forming in 1971.  While they did split up in 1980, they've reformed a few times over the years and made that reformation semi-permanent in 2000.  Metal Mind has released two separate double disc sets: Iron Curtain/ Memento Z  Banalnym Tryptykiem and Nastroje/Ze Slowem Biegne Do Ciebie. Both sets provide a great overview of the band's later work and offer up a plethora of great Prog moments.  

COLLAGE

For anyone into the '80s and '90s Prog Rock scene, Collage were one of the best of the best.  Like a mixture of both Fish and Hogarth eras of Marillion, Collage's sound mixes the lush and moving sounds of classic '70s bands with clean, well-produced modern Prog shine while tossing in loads of stunning melodic hooks.  With great vocals and musicianship, Collage sound just as wonderful today as these nearly 20 year old recordings sounded when first released.  My current favorite is the Moonshine album, which contains many 'wow' moments.  Metal Mind has released two different double CD sets, both of which are pretty amazing: Changes/Moonshine and Basnie/Safe.

BELIEVE

While Collage may have broken up, the band's members have gone on to create more great Prog.  Believe was formed by former Collage guitarist Mirek Gil, who takes the band in a similar lush direction.  The playing is superb, the production is warm and open and the songs are top notch.  Sometimes, it's hard to understand why a band from Poland can't make waves in the U.S., but I suppose there is always time.  The double CD set World is Round/Yesterday Is A Friend offers up some magnificent music that is as moving as it is melodic.

SATELLITE

Continuing with Collage offshoots, Satellite was formed by that band's drummer, lyricist and co-writer Wojtek Szadowski. With the help of new bandmates and some of his Collage pals, Satellite's music picks up where his old band's Moonshine album left off. Mesmerizing melodies drift in and out of expertly arranged Prog movements, never sounding old and tired.  Frustrating as it seems, Satellite are constantly compared to Collage, although they do tend to travel above and beyond the musical boundaries that he helped create nerely two decades ago.  The two double disc sets include the albums A Street Between Sunrise And Sunset/Into The Night and Evening Games/Nostalgia. 

Looking back at 2012: ASIA/XXX

ASIA

XXX (30)

Available NOW

2012 album from the Rock supergroup, the third studio album since the original quartet reunited in 2006. Consisting of John Wetton, Steve Howe, Carl Palmer and Geoff Downes, Asia were one of the commercial success stories of 1982. Their debut album was the best-selling album of the year and remained on top of the Billboard chart for nine weeks. Now, 30 years later, the band release an album that has been called their best full-length album since that debut. The album's original artwork is by famed artist Roger Dean, who was also responsible for the first album's cover.

ELI PAPERBOY REED/Come And Get It: Available August 10th, 2010!

ELI PAPERBOY REED

COME & GET IT

8.10.10

2010 album from the dynamic Soul/Rock vocalist. Think big-name modern crooners like Michael Buble`, Harry Connick Jr. and Jamie Cullum that capture the nostalgic hearts of the older baby-boomer consumer but also think Amy Winehouse, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings and Duffy that attract the young hipsters and that is who Eli 'Paperboy' Reed appeals to. His music is an authentic throwback to R&B/Soul of the 1960s yet also fresh, accessible and modern. He is a progressive Soul-revivalist and it's with a broad appeal that Mr. Paperboy is setting out to conquer the world as the next big thing.