Purple Pyramid Records: Reimagining The Court of the Crimson King - New Release Review

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Reimagining The Court of the Crimson King and it's a modern day replication of Fripp's early masterpiece. Opening with 21 Century Schizoid Man, Todd Rundgren and Arthur Brown on vocal is a bit more outrageous than Greg Lake's stellar vocals on the original release. Fripp who masterminded everything that KC did played guitar beautifully on the original yet Chris Poland pushes the envelope yet further. Michael Giles, who plays drums on the original track I always thought did a masterful job yet Ian Paice really does a nice job here as well and the addition of Mel Collins on sax really is a great touch. Excellent! One of my favorites form the original composition is I Talk To The Wind with Jakko M Jakszyk on vocal, guitar and keys and he really does a nice job. Django Jakszyk on flute holds the sub melody. Very nice. Danny Faulkner has the lead on Epitaph and really carries it well. Joe Lynn Turner sings Moonchild adding just a touch of theatrics to the original track and Jah Wobble on bass compliments the track with tight lines, and Marty Friedman on guitar sails. Title track, The Court of The Crimson King features James Labrie on vocal and Steve Hillage on guitar. Hillage creates trademark solos joined by Carmine Appice on drums. The release returns with instrumental takes on Schizoid Man and Brian Auger runs an elaborate keyboard solo certainly justifying the addition. 

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Forty Below Records artist: John Mayall - Nobody Told Me - New Release Review

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release (February 22, 2019), Nobody Told Me, from John Mayall and it's quite good. Opening with Magic Sam's, What Have I Done Wrong, a solid blues rocker, Mayall on lead vocal, keys and harp is joined by Greg Rzab on bass and Jay Davenport on drums and features Joe Bonamassa on guitars. Great opener. Larry McCray joins on The Moon Is Full with blistering guitar riffs over a really hard driving bass line by Rzab. Excellent! Rush veteran, Alex Lifeson joins on Evil And Here To Stay, a lumbering blues track with a healthy dose of Mayall on vocal, harp and piano. Lifeson shows an excellent adaptability from his hard driving rock sound to soulful blues riffs. Very nice. Little Milton's That's What Love Will Make You Do has a funky bass line by Rzab and tune master Todd Rundgren fires off some blistering blues guitar riffs of his own. Gary Moore's, The Hurt Inside, is one of my favorites on the release again with McCray on lead funky hot guitar and some of Mayall's best vocals on the release. Original Boogie track, Like It Like You Do has super vocals and piano by Mayall, a solid bottom and great boogie riffs by Carolyn Wonderland. Very cool. Wrapping the release is another original and title track, Nobody Told Me, a slow blues featuring Mayall way out front on vocal and piano with only the basic of backing and really soulful guitar soloing by Wonderland. This is a super wrapper for a very strong release by a certain father of the modern American blues revival in the 60's. 

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John Mayall to Release New CD Featuring Todd Rundren, Joe Bonamassa, Little Steven Van Zandt & Alex LIfeson

Blues Hall of Fame Member John Mayall Announces New Album, Nobody Told Me Featuring Todd Rundgren, Little Steven Van Zandt, Alex Lifeson and Joe Bonamassa.

On February 22nd Forty Below Records will release Nobody Told Me, the new studio album from The Godfather of British Blues, John Mayall. As with his last handful of albums, Mayall again shares production duties with Forty Below Founder Eric Corne who also handles engineering and mixing duties. The album boasts an impressive and diverse list of guest guitarists, all personal favorites of Mayall’s including Todd Rundgren, Little Steven Van Zandt of The E Street Band, Alex Lifeson from Rush, Joe Bonamassa, Larry McCray and Carolyn Wonderland who will be joining the band on tour. Also, on hand are Mayall’s dynamic Chicago rhythm section of Greg Rzab on bass guitar and Jay Davenport on drums, along with Billy Watts (Lucinda Williams) on rhythm guitar and Mayall’s regular horn section, moonlighting from their day job in The Late Show with Conan O’Brien’s house band. The album was recorded at The Foo Fighters’ Studio 606 on the same legendary Sound City Neve console his one-time protégés from Fleetwood Mac used to record parts of the best-selling Rumours album. “This project has been a true labor of love for me and I can’t wait for people to hear the fireworks that took place,” beams Mayall. Nobody Told Me is an apt title for the blues icon who suffered a recent unexpected health scare shortly after recording the album. But, the seemingly ageless road dog, who famously takes no days off and carries his own gear on tour, has been given a clean bill of health and plans to return to his usual grueling touring schedule to support the release. Tour dates can be found at johnmayall.com

Cleopatra Records artist: Todd Rundgren - An Evening With Todd Rundgren - CD/DVD - New Release Review

I just received the newest release, An Evening With Todd Rundgren, from Todd Rundgren and it captures the master of blue eyed soul in concert at the Ridgefield Playhouse in Ridgefield, CT on December 15, 2015. Todd opens with one of his best know tracks, I Saw The Light, from early in his career and it is a fine opener. Blasting right into Love Of The Common Man with John Ferenzik on keys, Jesse Gress on guitar, Prairie Prince on drums and Kasim Sulton on bass. Early rocker, Open My Eyes really gets the crowd rocking and Todd rips a hot solo to conclude the track. Todd and the crew hit a lot of the top tracks from his 25 release career including titles from at least 15 releases.



Something/Everything
I Saw The Light
Black Maria
Couldn't I Just Tell You

Faithful
Love Of The Common Man
Black and White

 Nazz
Open My Eyes
Hello It's Me

A Wizard A True Star
Sometimes I Don't Know What To Feel
Soul Medley: I'm So Proud, Ooh Baby Baby, I Want You

Second Wind
Love Science

One Long Year
Buffalo Grass

Hermit of Mink Hollow
Determination
Can We Still Be Friends

A Cappella
Lost Horizon

The Ever Popular Tortured Artist Effect
Bang The Drum
 Drive

Global
Soothe

Nazz Nazz
Kiddie Boy

Liars
God Said

POV
Secret Society

Oops Wrong Planet (Utopia)
Love In Action

Swing To The Right (Utopia)
One World

 He plays guitar throughout much of the release and in some cases sits or dances and of course even plays the drums but no piano on this one.
This is a solid mix overall with Kaz providing solid backing vocals and Rundrgren's own vocals maintaining the expressive qualities that he has shown since his earliest albums. His guitar chops are soulful and lively. I have listened to Todd's music for a good part of his career and I found this a cool release and a solid concert performance for those new to Rundgren as well as long time fans. This release definitely demonstrates that Todd still has a lot to share.

Todd Rundgren to Play Manchester HMV Ritz

Todd Rundgren, rock and roll icon, guitarist, interactive progenitor, singer-songwriter and record producer, plays the Manchester HMV Ritz on Saturday October 1st. The Manchester date is the first of several UK concerts billed as "An Evening With Todd Rundgren". the shows are described as "The greatest hits tour Todd fans have been waiting to see for years."

Tickets for the Manchester HMV Ritz concert on October 1st are available from the 24 hour ticket hotline: 08700 603 777, www.seetickets.com. Meanwhile, Rundgren's three night residency at the London Jazz Cafe (October 3-5th) is completely sold out.

These are Rundgren's first UK dates since 2010's sold-out London Hammersmith Apollo concert where he performed his 1973 album A Wizard, A True Star.

Rundgren is widely regarded as the godfather of music and multimedia. Having founded and The Nazz, the quintessential `60's power-pop psychedelic band, in 1969 he left them to pursue a solo career, recording his debut offering, the classic Runt. It was 1972's seminal Something/Anything, on which he played all the instruments, sang all the vocal parts, and acted as his own producer, that catapulted Todd into the superstar limelight.

Among Rundgren's impressive 50+ production projects are albums by Patti Smith, Cheap Trick, Psychedelic Furs, XTC, Grand Funk Railroad, New York Dolls, Hall & Oates, and Meat Loaf's multi-platinum debut Bat Out Of Hell.

Hellhounds on My Trail - Todd Rundgren's Johnson

I gotta say this took me totally by surprise. Used to be a big Todd Rundgren fan and then it appeared he got a little bogged down in electronics. I just read in Vintage Guitar magazine that he has a new tour/cd and it's called Todd Rundgren Johnson. I have checked out a few clips on youtube and it is actually pretty cool. Check it out!
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The Last Ride- Todd Rundgren

Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. Hailed in the early stage of his career as a new pop-wunderkind, supported by the certified gold solo double LP Something/Anything? in 1972, Todd Rundgren's career has produced a diverse range of recordings as solo artist, and during the seventies and eighties with the band Utopia. He has also been prolific as a producer and engineer on the recorded work of other musicians.

During the 1970s and 1980s, Rundgren engineered and/or produced many notable albums for other acts, including Straight Up by Badfinger, Stage Fright by The Band, We're an American Band by Grand Funk Railroad, Bat Out of Hell by Meat Loaf (now ranked as the fifth biggest-selling album of all time), and Skylarking by XTC. In the 1980s and 1990s his interest in video and computers led to Rundgren's "Time Heals" being the eighth video played on MTV, and "Change Myself" was generated on commercially available Amiga Computers.

His best-known songs include "Hello It's Me" and "I Saw the Light" which have heavy rotation on classic rock radio stations, and "Bang the Drum All Day" featured in many sports arenas, commercials, and movie trailers.
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Black Maria - Todd Rundgren

This is a good example of how the blues can morph. Todd Rundgren, always a musical innovator began singing blue eyed soul in the suburbs of Philly in the mid '60s and by the late seventies was using all of his blues chops to play this blues rock infested music. I know it's outside the realm of pure blues... but not outside of the realm of what can make us better listeners and appreciate deviation from the base. I just have to remind myself that one of the most influential blues writers of all times, Robert Johnson, probably doesn't appeal to most listeners in his pure form. It is far too primitive and many don't like his howling voice. Not a lot unlike Jack White. I for one love it. But my job here is to find the best blues and blues influenced music available and get it to you (and me) to listen to.
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