Category Archives: Rock

The Police and Eberhard Schoener: a Forgotten Prog-Rock Collaboration

Posted on by wolffkurt

Eberhard Schoener isn’t exactly a household name these days. But the German violinist, composer, arranger, and electronic artist was a significant figure among European classical and electronic-music circles, known for his award-winning compositions and conducting work that spanned the second half of the 20th century.

Schoener was also an early adopter of the Moog synthesizer, spent time exploring world music, and in the 1970s, collaborated with some notable rock artists: Jon Lord of Deep Purple (on Lord’s 1975 solo album Sarabande) and, in the late ’70s, all three members of The Police: Sting, Andy Summers, and Stewart Copeland.

The Police were just starting out, and their work with Schoener helped gain them visibility.

Prog-Rock Roots

The collaboration may seem odd, but it wasn’t random. The Police members, in fact, all had prog-rock roots: Copeland had previously toured with the prog-rock band Curved Air; Summers had played with Soft Machine, the Animals, and Jon Lord, among many others; and all three connected when working with Mike Howlett of the prog band Gong on his short-lived project Strontium 90.

Sting, Summers, and Copeland had already formed the Police by the time they began working with Schoener. He hired them for a series of live shows, and they also recorded with him in 1977 and ’78.

Flashback and Video Magic

The recordings were originally released in Germany under the album titles Flashback and Video Magic. Harvest Records released a US version in 1981 also under the name Video Magic, which included an assortment of the material from both albums.

The songs on the 1981 Video Magic are mishmash of styles — jazz, prog, pop, rock, electronic, even a bit of spoken word. While not exactly groundbreaking, they’re still interesting. Especially for Police fans: it’s a clear indication of just how varied their musical backgrounds were before coalescing into Outlandos d’Amour.

Scud Mountain Boys: Pine Box

Posted on by wolffkurt

The mid-1990s was the height of what was then called “alternative country” (a.k.a. alt country, twangcore, yalternative and a host of other somewhat unfortunate names).

Thank god we’ve now settled on the more dignified Americana.

Two of the biggest bands in the alt-country world were Uncle Tupelo and Whiskeytown, but Massachusetts group the Scud Mountain Boys also gained a strong following.

Led by singer-songwriter Joe Pernice, they took a laid-back, lo-fi approach to their songs. Their 1995 album Pine Box was literally recorded around a kitchen table.

Pine Box holds up incredibly well today. It’s a low key mix of originals and some surprising covers, including Cher’s “Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves” and the Olivia Newton John hit “Please Mr. Please.”

Joe Pernice went on to form indie-pop group the Pernice Brothers, as well as a few other one-off bands. He also has now written a novel. Here’s hoping he releases some new music again soon.

This profile of Joe Diffie was adapted from the book Country Music: A Rough Guide, published in 2000 by Rough Guides.

‘America for Me’ – Alex Ebert’s Song from the Film ‘A Most Violent Year’

Posted on by wolffkurt

No question: A Most Violent Year is a powerful film, one of the best I’ve seen in the past year. I was a fan of director J.C. Chandor’s 2011 release Margin Call, and his new film takes a vastly different but equally compelling perspective on capitalism in America.

The story focuses on the expansion plans of a heating oil executive in New York City in 1981, which sounds potentially mundane yet is anything but. Again, this is New York in the early ’80s, ages before new regimes came in to ‘clean up’ the place.

The story is strong, the mood is tense, the cinematography is stunning and the acting is stunning, notably that of the two leads, Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain. Both truly disappear into the roles.

One final treat is the song that plays through the closing credits. Titled “America for Me,” it’s a sparse, loosely constructed song by Alex Ebert. Listen below.

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With ‘Antiphon,’ Midlake Grows Up and Moves On

Posted on by wolffkurt

Like a lot of Midlake fans, when news broke that lead singer and longtime bandmember Tim Smith had left the band, I was worried that the group’s sound and songs wouldn’t hold up.

After listening to the new album Antiphon, though, any worries are laid to rest. It’s a fantastic album with strong songs and a sound that shifts the band back toward a psychedelic sound — yet still retains the wonderful melodic structures and vocal harmonies that have long been identified with the band.

Seeing Midlake live, too, only brings this experience home — this is still very much the same band.

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Pink Floyd ‘Live at Pompeii’ – Is the Director’s Cut Worth It?

Posted on by wolffkurt

Like a lot of fans, I first saw Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii in high school. I loved Pink Floyd at the time, and had really looked forward to seeing them play among ancient Roman ruins. But it was a midnight movie, and I dozed off here and there. And while the music and the setting were cool, I can’t say I fully appreciated the moods, ideas and concepts that the band or the film’s producers were going for.

Today, I came across a “director’s cut” of the Live at Pompeii. It’s a reworking of the film that was released in 2003, with additional interviews and some additional imagery of planets, sun flares and other space-themed visuals (which sounds cheesy, but in the context of the film it works).

I can’t remember exactly how this new version compares to the ‘original’ cut, but watching it now — more than 40 years after it was first released — the film turns out to be absolutely fascinating. Watch an embed below.

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Video: Line of Fire

Posted on by wolffkurt

A song that’s been haunting me this year is “Line of Fire” by the Swedish group Junip.

The band features singer/guitarist José González. Mesmerizing — I can’t stop playing it.

The video for the song, is directed by Mikel Cee Karlsson. Watch it below:

(Featured image at top is a video still that initially appeared on Trendland)

John Grant to release followup to ‘Queen of Denmark’

Posted on by wolffkurt

Three years ago I had never heard the name John Grant. But that year, Mojo named his debut solo album Queen of Denmark their favorite of the year. And like a lot of people who read that review, I was at first puzzled. Then I listened, and based on the deeply personal songs, his haunting vocals, and the warm arrangements (he was backed on the album by the band Midlake), I understood. It’s been a favorite album in regular rotation for me ever since.

It’s great news, then, that Grant finally has a followup album. Called Pale Green Ghosts, it’s already out in the U.K. and is due in stores in the U.S. on May 14.

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Billy Strange Has Raised His Hand and Asked to Leave the Room — R.I.P.

Posted on by wolffkurt

“This is the part of the song where Billy Strange raised his hand and asked if he could please leave the room.”
(Lee Hazlewood, from his version of “These Boots Are Made for Walking.”)

Bandleader/arranger/guitarist Billy Strange passed away yesterday (Wed., Feb. 22) at age 81.

While not exactly a household name, in the music world he was a major player. And over the years, on his own and as a member of L.A.’s famed Wrecking Crew, he worked with some of the biggest and best names of mid-20th century pop music, including Elvis Presley, Frank and Nancy Sinatra, Lee Hazlewood, the Beach Boys, Willie Nelson, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis, Jr.

Watch a clip of Billy in action.

 

More Billy Strange songs

Steely Dan “Aja” Tribute

Posted on by wolffkurt

“Sometimes vanilla just tastes so good.”

A friend of mine (Nate Cavalieri) once said that. He was talking about a Steely Dan video he was sharing. I always remembered it, and thought it made perfect sense in relation to that band’s sort of uber-polished, borderline-bland, radio-friendly pop sound.

Personally I’ve never fully settled on where I stand with Steely Dan. On one hand their sound is ubiquitous radio pop that’s overly crisp, with all the dirt washed off and creases ironed out. The sound can be cloying, and as we all know it’s been impossible to escape for decades.

On the other, man, when you really listen to some of those songs, they’re impressive. In terms of the writing, yes, but especially the production.

And from that perspective alone, an album like Aja deserves its accolades.

Toronto indie-rock band The Darcys today paid tribute to Steely Dan by releasing their own version of Aja–a song-by-song re-creation of the classic 1977 album, though done in their own moody, fuzzy style.

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