The Last Music Company artist: Bill Kirchen - The Proper Years - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, The Proper Years, from Bill Kirchen and it's strong. I'm certain that most readers know Bill but if not, he was the guitar fingers of Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen. That being known, you can expect that deep throaty telecaster guitar sound and rich country roots. Opening with Hammer of the Honky-Tonk  Gods, a swangin' country rocker with Kirchen on lead guitar and vocal, backed by Nick Lowe on bass, Geraint Watkins on bass, Austin de Lone on keys, Robert Trehorne on drums, Danny Levin on fiddle and Cindy Cashdoller and David Berzansky on steel guitar. Great opener. Working Man is a cool, country flavored track with solid 2 stepping beat. With great lead vocal and a really great bass background vocal among the others, this track is a standout. Remake of 60's pop hit, Devil In A Blue Dress, has a real bluesy feel with solid backing vocals by Sarah Carroll. Trish Anderson and Suzannah Espie. Kirchen puts on his best R&B vocal and slinky blues riffs. Acoustic rag, One More Day has a great light feel with stellar acoustic guitar riffs and fiddle (by Danny Levin). Excellent! A grungy rocker, Man in the Bottom of the Well features Elvis Costello and some really gritty guitar playing by Kirchen. This song is terrific! Commander Cody joins on I Don't Work That Cheap which is another terrific track with hints of Dylan and the Lost Planet Airmen. Very nice. On Disc 2, Kircher teams up with fleet fingered Dan Hicks on Word To The Wise. Cool lyrics, a great upbeat tempo and of course strong acoustic guitar riffs make for a great side 2 opener. Contemporary blues vocal legend, Maria Muldaur teams up with Kirchen on shuffle, Ain't Got No Time For the Blues. Breaking back to pure country and western on Tell Me The Reason. The is a great track with Kirchen on lead guitar and vocal, Jack O'Dell on drums and Paul Riley on bass and featuring Austin de Lone on piano. Really nice! Truck Stop At The End Of The World is a solid trucker song with classic Kirchen guitar riffs and a driving rock beat. Another classic and one from the Commander Cody songbook, Hot Rod Lincoln has great tempo and of course clever lyrics that accentuate the guitar riffs by Kirchen. Kirchen goes on to run classic country, Americana and rock riffs from the past. Cool flashback through music time. Country rocker, Oxblood has a really great feel with Butch Hancock on vocal with Kirchen who plays baritone guitar on this one. Balancing out the band is Gurf Morlix on guitar, David Carroll on bass, Rick Richards on drums and Austin de Lone on piano. Wrapping the release is Dylan's classic, The Times They Are A-Changin'. This is a complete album with few stones unturned. Well rounded with rock, Americana, blues and country, a lot of something for everyone.

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Terraplane Blues - Roy Rogers + Norton Buffalo

Norton Buffalo (September 28, 1951 – October 30, 2009) was a singer-songwriter, country and blues harmonica player, record producer, bandleader and recording artist best known as a versatile exponent of the harmonica, including chromatic and diatonic

Roy Rogers (born July 28, 1950, Redding, California) is an American slide guitarist and record producer. He was named after the singing cowboy, Roy Rogers.[1] Rogers plays a variety of guitar styles related to the Delta blues, but is most often recognized for his virtuoso slide work.[2]

In the 1980s Rogers was a member of John Lee Hooker's Coast to Coast Band. Rogers produced four John Lee Hooker recordings; ' The Healer' ; Mr. Lucky; Boom Boom and "Chill Out." He also produced two Grammy nominated recordings for Ramblin' Jack Elliott entitled "Friends of Mine" and "A Long Ride." Roy also co-wrote "Gnawnin' On It" which was nominated for 'Best Female Rock Vocal for Bonnie Raitt, a long time friend and collaborator.

Rogers has performed and/or recorded with for a diverse spectrum of artists including Linda Ronstadt, Sammy Hagar, Bonnie Raitt, Zucchero, John Gorka and Ramblin' Jack Elliott, and Elvin Bishop, Carlos Santana, and Steve Miller. Since 1980, Rogers has also fronted his own trio, The Delta Rhythm Kings. In 2003, Roger's own Slideways reached number 3 on Billboard's 'Split Decision' also charted in 2009. chart for "Top Blues Albums." He has also been nominated for 'Best Blues Guitar Instrumentalist" by The Blues Foundation. Other awards include those from France and Austrilia with long time friend Norton Buffalo. His current release in May 2011 is a collaboration with The Doors co-founder Ray Manzarek entitled 'Translucent Blues' which will be released by Blind Pig Records in May of 2011. His releases have been received worldwide, as he has been touring Europe, Brazil, Australia, Scandinavia since 1982.

Rogers has a brawny way with a lyric, and his command of slide styles is as extensive as anyone's.

Mercury Blues - Steve Miller

Steve Miller Band is an American rock band formed in 1967 in San Francisco, California. The band is managed by Steve Miller on guitar and lead vocals, and is known for a string of (mainly) mid-1970s hit singles that are staples of the classic rock radio format.In 1965, Steve Miller and keyboardist Barry Goldberg founded the Goldberg-Miller Blues Band along with bassist Shawn Yoder, rhythm guitarist Craymore Stevens, and drummer Lance Haas after moving to Chicago to play the blues. The band was contracted to Epic Records after playing many Chicago clubs. They also appeared on Hullabaloo with the Four Tops and the Supremes, and gigged at a Manhattan club.

Miller left the group to go to San Francisco where the psychedelic scene was flourishing. He then formed the Steve Miller Blues Band which, when they contracted with Capitol Records in 1967, they shortened their name to the Steve Miller Band. The band, consisting of Miller, guitarist James Cooke, bassist Lonnie Turner, and drummer Tim Davis (who replaced the departing Lance Haas on drums), backed Chuck Berry at a gig at the Fillmore West that was released as a live album. Guitarist Boz Scaggs joined the band soon after and the group performed at the Monterey Pop Festival in June. In May 1968 while in England, they recorded their debut album Children Of The Future. The album did not have any successes and did not score among the Top 100 album chart, but standout tracks were the acoustic tune "Baby's Calling Me Home" and funky blues number "Steppin' Stone". Closing the album is a slow version of the blues standard "Key To The Highway".

The Steve Miller Band's second album Sailor appeared in October, and climbed the Billboard chart to #24. Successes included the singles "Livin' In The USA", "Lucky Man", and Boz Scaggs "Overdrive" and "Dime-A-Dance Romance".

Miller's audience expanded with each album: Brave New World (#22, 1969), which featured the successful song "Space Cowboy" and the track "My Dark Hour" that was co-written by and featured Paul McCartney (aka Paul Ramon) on bass, Your Saving Grace (#38, 1969), Number 5 (#23, 1970).

In 1971, Miller suffered a broken neck after a car accident and Capitol Records released the album Rock Love. The album featured unreleased live performances (including an eleven minute jam on the title track) and studio material and is one of two of Steve Miller Band albums not to be released on CD, the other being Recall the Beginning...A Journey from Eden. It is on this album the song "Fandango" (Track 8) appeared. The first lyrics of the song read, "Kim, come and play the drum." This song was written as an invitation to drummer Kim Kopko of the band, The Black and Blues, to, as the next lyrics call, "come and join the fun."[citation needed] Although it was believed at the time that Miller was reaching out to a recently departed lady friend. In 1972, the double album compilation Anthology was released, featuring 16 songs from the band's first five albums.

The Joker (#2, 1973) showed audiences a new style of the band. The title track became a #1 single and was certified platinum for reaching over one million sales.

Three years later, the Steve Miller Band returned with the album Fly Like An Eagle, which charted at #3. Three singles were released from the album: "Take The Money and Run" (#11), "Fly Like an Eagle" (#2) and their second Number One success, "Rock 'N Me". Miller credits the guitar intro to "Rock 'N Me" as a tribute to the classic song by Free, "All Right Now".

Book Of Dreams (#2, 1977) also included three successes: "Jet Airliner" (#8), "Jungle Love" (#23), and "Swingtown" (#17). 1982's Abracadabra album gave Steve Miller his third Number One success with the title track. Miller's hit pushed Chicago's "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" out of the #1 spot, similar to his "Rock N' Me" knocking Chicago's "If You Leave Me Now" out of the #1 spot in 1976.[3]

Released in 1978, The Steve Miller Band's Greatest Hits 1974-1978 has sold over 13 million copies and Miller continues to perform successful sold-out concert performances.

Long time member Norton Buffalo died from lung cancer on October 30, 2009.

Bingo!, a new album of blues and R&B covers, was released on June 15, 2010. Let Your Hair Down, a companion release to Bingo!, was released 10 months later, on April 18, 2011.

James Cooke died from cancer on 16 May 2011.