Quarto Valley Records: Heavenly Cream - An Acoustic Tribute To Cream - New Release Review

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Heavenly Cream - An Acoustic Tribute To Cream and it's a solid cover of much of Cream's catalog by top name artists. Opening with I Feel Free, Deborah Bonham, John's sister has the lead vocals, backed by Bernie Marsden on guitar, Malcolm Bruce (Jack's son) on piano, Neil Murray on bass and Frank Tontoh on drums. Solid opener. Theme For An Imaginary Western, written by Jack Bruce and Pete Brown is fronted by Brown on vocal and backed by Clem Clemson  (Humble Pie) and Malcolm Bruce on guitars, John Donaldson on piano, Mo Foster on piano, and Cheryl Alleyne on drums. This is a great track and always one of my favorites with Jacks vocals and played by Leslie West of Mountain. Ginger Baker penned, Sweet Wine, is a standout with Baker on drums Nathan James on vocal, Marsden on guitar, Mo Nazam on guitar, Bruce on bass, Pee Wee Ellis on sax, Henry Lowther on trumpet, and Abass Dodoo on percussion. Take It Back, another Bruce/Brown composition is prime with the illustrious Maggie Bell on lead vocal. Her vocals are as sweet as they were in the 60's and a perfect fit for this track with Marsden and Tony Remy on guitars, Bruce on piano, Winston Blissett on bass and Tontoh on drums. One of the classic blues tracks covered by Cream was Howlin Wolf's Sitting On Top Of The World. Here we have a dynamic duo with Bell teamed with Bobby Rush who also plays harmonica, supported by Marsden and Remy on guitars, Bruce on piano, Blissett on bass and Tontoh on drums. Wrapping the release is Born Under A Bad Sign featuring Paul Rogers on vocal. Marsden and Nazam on guitars, Bruce on bass and Moreno Buttinar on drums. This is an interesting release with a solid assemblage of talent. 

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Jim Singleton - 8 O'Clock InThe Afternoon - New Release Review

I just received the newest release, 8 O'clock In The Afternoon from Jim Singleton and it's pretty cool. Opening with Peter Green's Rattlesnake Shake, Singleton lays down a dynamite interpretation of this classic rocker with a cool rhythm pattern. Screaming guitar work and solid vocals are the ticket here and they hit head on! Excellent! Next up is a lumbering, Nothing To Do With Love, with just a super groove. Grinding guitar tones carry Singletons vocals, complimented nicely by Charlie Musselwhite on harp and Michael "The Professor" Hensley on Hammond. This is a real nice track with the catchy feel of Bad Company but with more teeth.... I like it! Winding it down a few notches, Singleton sings a quiet ballad, Don't Take, with basically only acoustic guitar and Hammond, growing to include Mark Vacavone on accordion, John Martin on drums and Joe Osborn on bass. Rory Gallagher's rocker, What's Going On, hits like a hurricane. Nicely crafted together, this is a great blues rocker with solid lead guitar work and classic Gallagher like riffs! A quiet redo of Whitesnake/Coverdale's, Here I Go Again, shows a lot of sensitivity and possibly a better overall track than released by Whitesnake. Gary Clark Jr.'s Don't Owe You A Thang is a great blues driver with a lot of raw feel. Martin hits it clean and hard, leading the way for sizzling guitar leads throughout this stripped down blues track. Very cool! Ballad, Heart With A Mind Of It's Own, has a solid melody and just enough guitar solo tocarry it making it the number one prospect for cross playing on multiple radio stations. Bernie Marsden's Place In My Heart is a nice slow blues number featuring Marsden on guitar and Charlie Musselwhite on harp. Hensley's Hammond work on this track really adds to the tension and dynamics of this track. Excellent harp and guitar work on this track make it on of my personal favorites. Chris Issak's gigantic hit, Wicked Game is up next and is a nicely covered with minor new embellishments. Wrapping the release is Rory Gallagher's A Million Miles Away. This is an excellent track with clean articulate guitar work throughout. Does this release show guitar chops as well as straight up vocals... you betcha. Excellent closer to this very cool release!

  If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

 

Provogue artist: Bernie Marsden - Shine - New Release Review

I just received the newest release, Shine from Bernie Marsden and it is solid. Opening with Linin' Track, a classic work song, Marsden opens as a solo vocalist but is quickly joined by an explosion of blues rockin' including Mark Feltham on harp and particularly strong drums. Nice! Next up is Wedding Day and Marsden and some drone note finger picking on electric guitar. Very cool ! With a catchy melody and contemporary feel Marsden rips out a nice guitar solo icing the track. Walk Away has a real pop feel and bright keyboard work. Marsden lays down some of his solid guitar riffs making this arena rock track complete. Kinda Wish She Would is a ragged rocker with a lot of bite. With it's great drive, piano support and biting guitar riffs, it's likely my favorite track on the release. Ladyfriend has a distinctly British rhythm (think When The Levee Breaks) and a crying harp. What's not to like. Next up is Trouble featuring David Coverdale on lead vocal. This is a hot blues rocker with super drum work and well placed organ dialogue accentuating the Marsden's guitar work. Who Do We Think We Are? is another track with a strong radio theme. Marsden plays a particularly melodic guitar solo on this track with nice backing vocals from Rob Cass and Pearse Macintyre. Cherry Lee Mewis takes the lead vocal on Bad Blood. This track has a great driving bass and drum line setting a solid blues base. Marsden steps up nd lets his guitar do the talking with well placed searing guitar phrases. Very nice! Joe Bonamassa is featured on lead guitar on Shine, an open wheeled racer with vocal harmonies. Rumble rhythm drum and bass work adds a nice accent to this solid rocker. Dragonfly is a haunting track with Fleetwood Mac (Peter Green's) like glistening guitar chords. A cool guitar melody makes this another of my release favorites. Tandem guitar leads, smooth vocals and a straight forward rock beat make this track a rocket to the radio. Hoxie Rollin' Time has a real cool blues rollin' beat with a nice lope and Marsden rides the wave. Clever drum riffs and tight organ work make this another of my picks for this release. Wrapping the release is NW8, an acoustic resonator track with a nice melody supported by keys and light percussion. A very nice track to close an interesting release from Marsden.  

If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, Like ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorites band! -  ”LIKE”

 

Bernie Marsden To Release SHINE on 9/30/14 via Mascot Label Group's Provogue Records

BERNIE MARSDEN AND MASCOT LABEL GROUP'S PROVOGUE RECORDS

ANNOUNCE SEPTEMBER 30 RELEASE DATE FOR SHINE

GuitarWorld.com Premieres Lyric Video For "Linin' Track" Today

Screen Here: http://www.guitarworld.com/bernie-marsden-premieres-linin-track-lyric-video-exclusive

New York, NY --- Bernie Marsden and Mascot Label Group's Provogue Records have announced a September 30 release date for SHINE.  Marsden has been a prolific artist since the early 1970s, contributing performances to approximately one hundred albums.  He has enjoyed a successful long-running solo career, alongside being a key member of ensembles that include Whitesnake, UFO, Wild Turkey, Babe Ruth, Paice Ashton & Lord, Cozy Powell’s Hammer, Alaska, M3 and others.  An album trailer can be screened here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbLX4jnO2rs.  Additionally, GuitarWorld.com has premiered the lyric video for "Linin' Track" today which can be screened here: http://www.guitarworld.com/bernie-marsden-premieres-linin-track-lyric-video-exclusive

Looking towards the release of SHINE, the Buckinghamshire-born guitarist shares, “To me, it’s a classic rock album with a modern feel.  When I asked the bosses at Provogue what type of album they wanted from me, they simply replied: ‘Make a Bernie Marsden album’. And that’s what I did.” 

The light, airy commercial feel of ‘Shine’ is largely attributable to producer Rob Cass, who pieced together its contents in Studio 3 of the legendary Abbey Road facility, though the backing tracks for three of its selections were cut at Riverside Studios in Somerset. During the 1980's Cass had actually spent six months as the lead singer of Marsden’s group Alaska before carving a career as a successful producer with a wide range of rock, pop and classical artists. It was Cass who sought out Marsden, emailing him to suggest they catch up over a reunion lunch at the home of his production company, located at Abbey Road Studios.

Marsden offers, “Rob wanted to thank me for having sent him an air ticket to come to London from Ireland [to join Alaska] and helping to get his career underway.  Coincidentally, I was looking for a producer because I’ve been writing, playing and producing for too long. I really liked the sounds that Rob gets, and that’s how the whole thing came together. If people think I was recording at Abbey Road because Whitesnake’s ‘Here I Go Again’ made 18 gazillion quid then they’re quite wrong… though it did make 17 gazillion quid!”

Marsden believes that the famous facility has an atmosphere that permeates the sounds created within its walls – hence the album’s final instrumental song is titled NW8, after the studio’s postcode. He reflects, “The Beatles recorded Revolver, my favorite album of theirs in Studio 3, so it has that sense of history.  I honestly believe Abbey Road to be the best studio in the world.”

Although Marsden was wary of flooding the credits with too many special guests, SHINE does feature some extremely well-known names, from Joe Bonamassa to Whitesnake singer David Coverdale, and the Deep Purple duo of Ian Paice (drums) and Don Airey (keyboards). Jimmy Copley of Jeff Beck fame behind the kit and Mark Feltham of Nine Below Zero also supplies some breathtaking harmonica playing.  Marsden states, “I can’t help it, I’ve got a lot of mates – and quite a few of them are guitar players."

The complete track listing of SHINE is: "Linin' Track," "Wedding Day," "Walk Away," "Kinda Wish She Would," "Ladyfriend," "Trouble," "Who Do We Think We Are?", "Bad Blood," "Shine," "Dragonfly," "You Better Run," "Hoxie Rollin' Time," "NW8."  Mascot Label Group's Provogue Records will issue the album on August 18 in Europe.

Blues Deluxe - Eilidh Mckellar with Joe Bonamassa and Bernie Marsden

In the UK where the reverence for American blues artists runs deep and has brought forth legendary guitar heroes Jeff Beck, and Eric Clapton, the endless grey skies of Edinburgh, Scotland are most definitely not immune to this musical iconography. Eilidh McKellar, a 19-year-old Scottish born singer and guitarist offers an interesting blend of indie rock, blues, and pop music with a nod towards the New World. Not only can Eilidh play with heartfelt emotion on the guitar, her voice comes from deep in the Mississippi River delta- where alligators lie in wait and Southern Comfort allays the sins of the soul. Eilidh started playing the guitar when she was 9 years old. With no other musicians in the family everything Eilidh has achieved has been the result of her own hard work and endearing devotion to her local guitar shop. In time she became a much beloved local fixture there testing out every available guitar on its walls. Meanwhile at home Eilidh listened to her dad’s Rolling Stones albums fostering an early love of the blues. “I loved the sound of those records, very raw and loose as if everyone was comfortable in their skin- I was feeling that.” Her interest in the blues expanded when she watched a television documentary and it led Eilidh to discover artists such as Robert Johnson, B.B. King, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, and Jimi Hendrix. Guitar lessons, both electric and classical, continued through her high school years. Together with Eilidh’s experience as part of the Edinburgh School Rock Ensemble for 5 years, allowed her to develop her guitar abilities and overall musicianship. In 2011 Eilidh began uploading performance videos to YouTube, initially to raise her profile and to help with music college applications, which landed her at the Leeds College of Music. The video response was very positive and Eilidh has now clocked up a nearly one million views overall. She also began performing on the local Edinburgh blues scene. This provided Eilidh with opportunities to jam with established musicians such as Oli Brown and James Burton. The highlight of her nascent career was performing at the Hammersmith Apollo with legendary blues/rock guitarist, Joe Bonamassa. Joe had seen Eilidh on YouTube and asked her to join him on stage-- a huge honor and she delivered great solos much to his and the audiences delight. Eilidh’s YouTube videos then caught the attention of American manager and producer, Guy Eckstine, who immediately offered his services for creative direction and career guidance. “As soon as I got wind of her and watched her videos, I reached out through social media. I asked Eilidh if she could sing- and she really “hadn’t bothered to try.” Two weeks later she sent me vocal demos which blew my mind.” Incorporating her various influences into a contemporary recording will be an interesting adjustment. “I’ve got many influences and voices inside of me that need to get out there into the world- I love indie rock, jazz, blues, and pop music too- I can’t wait to make this all come to fruition this year.” If you support live Blues acts, up and coming Blues talents and want to learn more about Blues news and Fathers of the Blues, -  ”LIKE” ---Bman’s Blues Report--- Facebook Page! I’m looking for great talent and trying to grow the audience for your favorite band!