CD Review: Lamb Of God – VII: Sturm Und Drang

CD Review: Lamb Of God – VII: Sturm Und Drang
Epic
All Access Rating: A-

Lamb Of God - VII: Sturm Und Drang
His harrowing prison ordeal in the Czech Republic behind him, having been at least legally acquitted of manslaughter, Randy Blythe returned to Lamb Of God uncertain of his own future, as well as the band's.

Blythe talked about taking a good, long break and wrote a book about his experience, but just two years after his acquittal, the Richmond, Va., thrash-metal juggernaut emerged from a self-imposed exile with VII: Sturm Und Drang, the raging follow-up to 2012's rather toothless and uninspired Resolution. Where its predecessor quickly ran out of fresh ideas and energy, VII: Sturm Und Drang offers both in abundance.

Frenzied, propulsive stampedes "Embers," "Footprints" and "Delusion Pandemic" attack with focused precision and furious speed, while "Erase This" is a circle pit of nimble moves, with some surprising guitar effects thrown in for good measure. Fast, chugging riffs heighten the seething tension of "Anthropoid," and when Blythe lets out a roar as opener "Still Echoes" explodes as if it stepped on a land mine, it's a primal scream of relief that sends shivers down the spine. Containing lyrics Blythe wrote while jailed in Eastern Europe, the spiritual darkness he encountered while incarcerated hangs over VII: Sturm Und Drang like angry clouds – the contemplative, melodic gloom of "Overload" laden with heavy choruses before transforming into a volcanic eruption of crazed riffage and the mysterious and unsettling "512," Blythe's cell number, overcome by waves of powerful emotions and riffs.

Fears that Blythe had abandoned his trademark guttural screams and growls in favor of clean vocals can be put to rest. In contrast to comments that he was no longer interested in such exaggerations, VII: Sturm Und Drang finds Blythe as animalistic as ever. What's even more satisfying is that Lamb Of God's seventh album – eighth if you count Burn The Priest – is visceral and exciting, its changing tempos, searing guitar work and tenacious hooks grabbing hold in tracks like "Engage The Fear Machine," even as these veterans of metal savagery occasionally happen upon spacious pockets of decayed beauty. A product of production that perfectly harnesses Lamb Of God's intensity and renewed vigor, VII: Sturm Und Drang is a surprising return to form, a throwback to their classic ethos. The old tricks still amaze, even if learning new ones might bring them to even greater heights. Just be glad that Blythe is still around to remind us how precious freedom is.  
– Peter Lindblad

Just who was Kelakos?

Unknown '70s band reintroduces itself
By Peter Lindblad

Kelakos - Uncorked: Rare Tracks
From a Vintage '70s Band
Massachusetts was a dead end. Burning up the club circuit in the Bay State five and six nights a week wasn't getting '70s rockers Kelakos anywhere.

Going on the idea that location is everything, they relocated, thinking they were more likely to be discovered in New Jersey, given its proximity to record labels in New York City. They didn't fully realize what they were up against.

"At that time, it was really heavy music or it was disco," said Carl Canedy, the drummer for Kelakos. "It was right at the onset of disco, and we were neither."

Even worse, they were trespassing on the home turf of a man known as "The Boss," and they soon found out where they stood in the pecking order of the New Jersey music scene.

"When we played, we played a place called the Drift Inn," recalled Canedy. "It's in New Jersey, which was across the street from the Stone Pony. So, the first time we played the Drift Inn – I think we played Tuesday nights, we had a regular gig there, Tuesday nights at the Drift Inn in Asbury Park – and we were playing along, and it's a Tuesday night. There are people in the club, but not a ton of people – 75 people maybe. All of a sudden, they just start running out of the club, just running out of the club."

Needless to say, Kelakos was taken aback seeing an audience fleeing from their set as if someone had yelled, "Fire!" Bassist Lincoln Bloomfield Jr., for one, wasn't sure what to think.

"You see people talking, and suddenly, they run out of the club, and Linc leans forward to me and said, 'Wow, I guess these people just don't get us. This really sucks,'" recounted Canedy. "So the same thing happened two more times that we played there. It was crazy. We didn't know anyone, and finally, we just asked someone, 'What's going on?' And we found out what was happening was – which we were unaware of – that Springsteen was sitting in with Southside Johnny at the Stone Pony, and the word would be out in the club and people would run to see Bruce Springsteen, which seems so silly when they could have stayed and watched Kelakos (laughs)."

All the complications and frustrations involved in chasing the elusive dream of rock 'n' roll stardom eventually wore thin for Kelakos, which included Canedy, Bloomfield, singer/guitarist George Michael Kelakos Haberstroh and guitarist Mark Sisson. Incidents like the one at the Stone Pony didn't help.

"Those are the 'Spinal Tap' moments for the band, where we didn't know what was up and our feelings were pretty hurt the first couple of times until we found out," said Canedy. "But it was tough in New Jersey because of things like that."

Uncorked

The recent unveiling of Uncorked: Rare Tracks From a Vintage '70s Band aims to reintroduce the music of Kelakos to an audience that, in all likelihood, has never heard of them. A surprisingly diverse set that runs the gamut of Southern-fried boogie to prog-rock and Beatlesque psychedelia, as well as boasting compact jams of blues, country and rock ingredients born of that time, this 15-track effort never stays in one place too long, as evidenced by tracks such as "Gone Are The Days," "Boogie Bad Express," "How Did You Get So Crazy" and the ambitious epic "Frostbite Fantasy," as well as the never-before-released "In The Sun."

That willingness to explore may have cost them in the end.

"I think that's one of the things that may have been a downfall for us at the time," said Canedy. "You know, Linc, George and I were the songwriters ... we had no boundaries. It was the '70s. We had been influenced by The Beatles ... so we wrote what we wanted. We never looked at it as well, should we be grape jelly or should we be tomato soup? We were like, 'Screw it.' We'll just be like stew. We'll just have carrots and onions, and we'll do whatever we want to do. We had no label. We had no guidance."

Perhaps best known as the drummer for '80s metal bashers The Rods, Canedy also later made a name for himself as a producer, working on albums by the likes of Anthrax, Overkills, TT Quick, Exciter and Possessed, among others. Over the years, he's served as the archivist for both The Rods and Kelakos.

"I've maintained and stored all these tapes, these recordings for years," said Canedy. "And Linc and I were having a discussion one day. He was putting together his Pro Tools studio. And we were talking about the fact that in this day and age, transferring from analog to digital it just makes life easier because you don't have the studio costs and so on, which we obviously had in the old days."

Shipping off some transfers of the material to Bloomfield, Canedy waited for him to work on the mixes. The results were stunning.

"With each successive recording, the mixes just sounded ... we were like, wow!" said Canedy. "It was like blowing off the dust on a painting that was actually very nice."

Knowing full well the project would be a money pit, they carried on, and Canedy believes it was all worth it.

"When we recorded this, one of the things I remember saying was, 'Let's continue,'" said Canedy. "Even though we were spending a lot of money mixing, and we were concerned we were just never going to break even on the project, my thought was, 'Someday, we'll be glad we did this, we'll be proud of it. So let's make it as good as we can.' And I have to say, those words kind of came true, because now, at this point, for me having done so many things – produced so many albums and having been a part of The Rods and done so many projects – the Kelakos thing something that wasn't really on the radar ... we were proudest of this discography, and I'm really glad people get to hear this because it's really something to be proud of."

Trials and tribulations

Before Canedy came along, Bloomfield, Sisson and Haberstroh had formed a band as teenagers living in Cohasset, Mass.

Sisson had moved there from Seattle with his electric guitar, hooking up with Haberstroh, a singer who later took up the instrument as well. Since grade school, Bloomfield had played the sousaphone, but he learned electric bass, and the trio formed Emergency Exit, employing others on keyboards and drums and using that moniker throughout their high school and college years.

In the early '70s, they were rechristened The Criminals, their music inspired by artists such as Eric Clapton, Todd Rundgren, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Johnny Winter, The Who and Led Zeppelin. Crisscrossing New England, performing at clubs and schools, the group went full-time in 1974.

Miles away, in upstate New York, Canedy was honing his talent as a drummer and making contacts with music industry professionals in places like Ithaca, Elmira, Cortland and others, before heading out to see what the rest of the world had to offer.

"I had left bands that were successful club bands," said Canedy. "I kind of wanted a band that was a national recording act. So I said, 'Well, I'll strike out and see if I can find this type of thing. And I'm just really looking to have a major label deal.' So I went to San Francisco. I went to L.A. I went to New York City, and really, just nothing was a fit for me. So, as a last resort, I said, 'I'm going to try Boston and see what's in Boston."

While there, Canedy sat in with a cover band, " ... a 10-piece horn band and show band, and the musicians were phenomenal. They were all Berklee, Boston, music grads. They were phenomenal musicians, and the guys taught me a lot. The horn players were great and helped me so much."

However, Canedy thought the band leader " ... was a jackass. He was a tyrant, and he wasn't very talented and he was, by far, the weakest link in the band."

Feeling miserable, and wondering if Boston was just another unfulfilling stop along the journey, Canedy eventually met his future bandmates, just as he was planning to move on. "And they came and said, 'Just come and stay with us for a few days and see what happens before going back," said Canedy.

That was 1974, and soon they began writing together. Taking the name Kelakos, in reference to George's family heritage, they made the ill-fated move to New Jersey a year later, barnstorming clubs throughout the central part of the state, the Jersey shore, New York and Long Island after finding that Massachusetts had little to offer them.

The next year, they decamped to Ithaca, N.Y., which became their headquarters. Between 1976-1978, Kelakos spent whatever time they could in the studio, working on 15 original songs.

In 1976, Kelakos released their first single, "There's a Feeling/Funky Day." Two years later, they had recorded an album's worth of material.

"We actually recorded the album over a period of time," explained Canedy. "And I think at that point we were playing five and six nights a week, and it was just a question of time factors, and we were paying $60 an hour for studio time. That was a lot of money back then for musicians not making a lot of money. And I also think it was getting the material together and ready to record."

Getting that single out gave Kelakos a sense of accomplishment.

"There was just a period of tome for us with that first single, but I remember getting the jukeboxes ... they were 45s, and I was so happy because we found a place that manufactured jukebox name tags, in the little pink and red or whatever they were," said Canedy. "I thought that was just so cool that we were able to get them in jukeboxes."

Gone Are The Days came out in 1978, with the title track and "How Did You Get So Crazy" pushed as singles. It didn't quite measure up to their raucous live shows.

"We were a pretty high-energy rock band," said Canedy. "George was a fiery soloist and a very charismatic guy. We were pretty intense live. Not everything on the album reflects that, because it was about songwriting on the album."

Perhaps knowing subconsciously that this was their one and only shot at fame and glory, Kelakos pulled out all the stops, even going so far as to add horns and strings.

"It was just crazy what we did in terms of no boundaries, musical boundaries," said Canedy. "We just went for it as if it as if it were Sgt. Pepper's."

Put up or shut up

There was a lot on the line, however, for Kelakos with that record. The club scene and endless touring throughout the Northeast hadn't led to a breakthrough or a major label deal. And perhaps, they were grasping at straws throughout the making of it.

"It was a lot of fun," said Canedy. "There was also pressure. I think we each kind of produced our own songs, because we didn't have a producer. So sometimes there was a little bit of a lack of direction or somebody really taking the reins, and that was a new experience for us. And I don't recall anything really bad. I think we had a lot of fun doing it. I think the tension really came from the financial aspect, because if someone was spending a lot of time on the minutiae – you know, little parts and things and really racking up the bills – I think everybody got a little tense about that. Overall, it was a fun experience. It was certainly interesting, and for me, having always been interested in production, I was able to watch a lot of times, and I learned a lot."

Canedy wasn't the only one getting an education. The engineers who worked on the record went on to do big things. Les Tyler, who worked on the 1976 single, operated various audio technology companies, including DBX. Alex Perialas, producer and owner of Pyramid Sound Studios in Ithaca, N.Y., would become an associate professor of Performance Studies at Ithaca College. And finally, there was Tony Volante, an engineer for Steely Dan's Donald Fagan who has worked for the cream of the crop as far as studios go, including Sound Lounge in New York City. That's where Volante is engaged in TV and movie post-production.

As for Kelakos, that album was a "pass/fail" test. If it had brought them the attention they needed to attract the labels, they might have kept going.

"When the band comes together, and they decide to do that original thing and are going to make that leap, I think it becomes a 'do or die' and I think, at some point, if you were to make it happen, then you could continue on," said Canedy. "But if you don't make it happen, you kind of realize it's pretty much the end of the road. Then you go back to playing clubs again. Are you going to be happy doing that? It's probably time to move on."

And that's just what they did, breaking up after a short tour of New York state.

"We had radio ads, and it was okay, but it was not a label," said Canedy. "And things are different now for people, looking at how the music business is today. Back then, it was a bottleneck. You had a major label deal or you couldn't get your music out. Today, you can get your music out, and of course, there's a lot of music out there. It's hard to rise above the noise that's out there, with all the product, but you can do it. Back then, no. If you didn't get that major label deal, it was going to be very tough to do anything, because it was tough to get distribution, tough to get promotion and without the approval of the record machine behind you, we were basically done. So we kind of realized, without the support, it wasn't going any further and it kind of wound down."

And so Kelakos scattered to the four winds, splitting amicably but knowing they'd come to the end of the road. All four continue to be involved in music and entertainment in one way or the other, but Kelakos will always be something they can look back on and be proud of what they accomplished. And now, maybe the rest of the world will discover what made them special as well. Visit  https://www.facebook.com/KelakosUncorked to learn more about them.

CD Review: Lynch Mob – Rebel

CD Review: Lynch Mob – Rebel
Frontiers Music srl
All Access Rating: B+

Lynch Mob - Rebel 2015
What exactly is Lynch Mob rebelling against? Like Marlon Brando in "The Wild One," Oni Logan and former Dokken shredder George Lynch might answer, "Whaddya got?"

On their upcoming release, the ruggedly heavy, riff-mongering Rebel, Lynch Mob comes out fighting against social and economic injustice, as Logan pulls no punches in fiery diatribes against "Dirty Money" and the "Kingdom of Slaves" such inequality creates. His heart is in the right place, as he passionately pounds the pulpit to deliver these righteous tirades with a husky, bluesy wail that's soulful and commanding.

Those rough-and-tumble vocals get a workout in Rebel, brawling with and sweating through the sunny, metallic funk of "Pine Tree Avenue" and "Jelly Roll" in sweltering, grungy Southern-rock heat – all of which is also found in the snaking grooves of "Dirty Money." The slow boil of opener "Automatic Fix," an ode to the spiritual power of rock 'n' roll, heats up Rebel, before Lynch Mob gets down and dirty in the burning blues of "Between The Truth and a Lie."

On the other hand, the dark carnival of "The Hollow Queen" is rather dreamy and surreal, revealing a more gothic side to a quartet that includes the veteran rhythm section of ex-Dokken bassist Jeff Pilson and drummer Brian Tichy (Whitesnake, Billy Idol, Slash). Similarly cast, "The Ledge" is unexpectedly lush and pretty, standing as a contrast to the weighty, ponderous stomps of Rebel and its occasionally awkward and mechanical labor. Nevertheless, Rebel is good and meaty rock 'n' roll with strong songwriting that is doing more than merely getting by on its attitude, honesty and heart. And it doesn't hurt that Lynch clearly isn't resting on his laurels, his searing soloing as razor-sharp as ever and his inventive riffs gassing up Rebel, due out on Frontiers Music srl, for a hell of a ride.
– Peter Lindblad

Black Sabbath's 'Sabotage': Anger is an energy

Classic album from metal pioneers hits a milestone
By Peter Lindblad

Black Sabbath's sixth studio
album 'Sabotage'
Nobody's going to lie about Sabotage's age. The sixth studio album by heavy metal godfathers Black Sabbath did, indeed, turn 40 last week in late July, but it's hard to imagine Ozzy Osbourne, Bill Ward, Geezer Butler and Tony Iommi throwing a party in its honor.

Born out of anger and frustration over ongoing litigation with former manager Patrick Meehan, 1975's Sabotage, perhaps the most underrated of Sabbath's acclaimed "first six" albums, was recorded at Morgan Studios in London. The whole soul-sucking process seemed to take an eternity, as Ozzy would lament in his autobiography, saying that "Sabotage took about four thousand years" to make. Ozzy got so fed up by the whole experience that the singer, who rarely wrote lyrics for Sabbath, penned what amounted to a scathing "diss" track with "The Writ," which asked if Meehan was actually Satan or a man and posited the confrontational query: "What kind of people do you think we are? Another joker who's a rock and roll star for you/Just for you." It was a rhetorical question for Ozzy.

Hyperbole aside, the interminable sessions for Sabotage, only made more exhausting by the band's legal entanglements, caused no shortage of headaches. Butler is quoted in the liner notes to Reunion, the band's 1988 live album, as saying that "music became irrelevant to me." And yet, it's clear from listening to Sabotage, even all these years later, that Black Sabbath put a great deal of care into making it. Although intent on continuing down a primrose path that would lead them further into prog-rock temptation – "Supertzar" is practically a choral piece, with grand arrangements and the London Philharmonic Choir wailing and moaning in sinister fashion in chasing a striking Iommi riff like spectral hunting dogs – Sabotage is a record that has a hot temper, the very title suggesting that Sabbath was sick and tired of being screwed over. And raw emotions have often fueled great rock 'n' roll.

Frayed nerves and all, and perhaps on the cusp of a collective nervous breakdown, the original Sabbath lineup muddled through Sabotage's difficult birth and, in the process, broke new ground in terms of songwriting structures and musical innovation. Although not exactly immediately accessible, Sabotage has endured, slowly becoming a fan favorite, even as everyone laughed at its ludicrous album art and Bill Ward in his red tights. An arty concept gone horribly wrong, although, to be fair, this seemed to happen a lot with Sabbath, the cover of Sabotage ranks right up there with those of Paranoid and Never Say Die! for sheer absurdity.

 It's a journey with odd detours, including the completely out-of-character synth-pop flatulence of the universally hated "Am I Going Insane." Thankfully, it's the only real misstep here, although another confounding turn takes place after the opener "Hole In the Sky" essentially draws up the blueprints for stoner metal, with its heavy swing and charged, churning riffage. In a bizarre bit of sequencing, an instrumental titled "Don't Start (Too Late)" follows, allowing Iommi to display his prowess on acoustic guitar, as he pieces together complex little puzzles with an easy, smooth dexterity that proves, once and for all, that he's more than just a master of riffs. Which is great, except that any momentum gained from "Hole In The Sky" is stalled momentarily for an interlude that probably should have arrived in the middle of Sabotage, rather than at the beginning.

Enter "Symptom of the Universe," the proto-thrash beast that seeks and destroys, inspiring Metallica and the rest of its ilk to rise up from the gutter and revolt against everything '80s glam-metal represented. Trace the origins of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and here is where you end up, and yet, somewhere along the way, Sabbath decides the track needs a jaunty acoustic jam that seems to fly directly in the face of its evil, menacing riff.

All of this kind of works in a weird way, but upon its release, Sabotage must have been somewhat off-putting, although the forceful, straightforward push and solar-powered flashes of "The Thrill Of It All" and "Megalomania" seem to suggest a more grounded Sabbath that has freed itself from the shackles of doom and gloom. And then there's Ozzy's blazing vocals on "The Writ," so powerful and commanding. Of course, Sabotage precipitated a sad decline, their creative powers eroded by drug use that was the stuff of legend. They would recover, but not until Ronnie James Dio arrived. Sabotage was then, in some regard, a link to past glories, a life line for fans who wondered afterward if the old Sabbath was ever coming back. These days, even if it's not on the level of say Masters Of Reality or Vol. 4, it's damn close.
– Peter Lindblad

Short Cuts: Rivers Of Nihil, Battlecross, Cattle Decapitation

CD Review: Rivers Of Nihil – Monarchy
Metal Blade Records
All Access Rating: A

Rivers Of Nihil - Monarchy 2015
Adopting a terrifying god complex, Jeff Dieffenbach loudly roars the declaration, "I am the sun/I am the moon," his bellowing rage cutting through the dizzying maelstrom of complex riffs, blast beats and melodic grandeur that is "Sand Baptism." Here's where the world of Monarchy, the sprawling, ambitious new concept album from progressive death-metal architects Rivers Of Nihil, begins to turn. Religious tyranny is established amidst beautifully orchestrated sonic chaos. The new inhabitants of a desert-like earth, stewards of a planet barely worth saving, are divided into classes and their mutual destruction seems assured. Monarchy is Rivers Of Nihil's 2112, an epic dystopian tale brutally told that spills out in great sonic floods, exploring labyrinths of dark, astral melody as sonic devastation of biblical proportions occurs below in the furious grooves and violent intensity of "Ancestral, I" and the surging, explosive dynamics of "Perpetual Growth Machine" and "Reign of Dreams." What stunning, chimerical crescendos emerge from the post-rock tumult of "Circles In The Sky" and the instrumental ebbs and flows of "Terrestria II Thrive," and just when it seems Rivers Of Nihil couldn't possibly outdo themselves, the heavens open in the cinematic, ever-evolving closer "Suntold" and you're left speechless by its blinding brilliance. God save this Monarchy.
– Peter Lindblad

CD Review: Battlecross – Rise To Power
Metal Blade Records
All Access Rating: A-


Battlecross - Rise To Power 2015
Taking no prisoners in their Rise To Power, thrash-metal's greatest hope for a glorious rebirth returns leaner and hungrier than ever. Going back to work, lunch bucket in hand, these angry boilermakers with their blue-collar ethos – coming off 2013's impossibly fast and furious War of Wills – have sharpened their visceral attack, growing ever more aggressive and vicious in doing so. From the one-two punch of a stampeding "Scars" on through "The Path," with its unpredictable mix of soaring, melodic twin-guitar leads, rampaging riffs and Van Halen-like swing, Battlecross lands a flurry of knockout punches on Rise To Power. Sounding more ferocious and tighter than on previous outings, there is ruthless efficiency and superhuman dexterity in their playing. Taking a page out of Pantera's playbook, these Michigan-based malcontents carve red-hot, irresistible grooves into "Not Your Slave," "The Climb," "Bound By Fear," "Despised" and "Blood and Lies," and for all the whiplash dynamics they employ here, these writhing, crashing tracks should come with a cervical collar. Classic thrash elements are thrown into a blender by Battlecross on Rise To Power with thermonuclear guitar solos and different vocal textures that growl and lash out like rattlesnakes, and what comes out is a fresh, combustible racket intent on leading a thrash revival.
– Peter Lindblad

CD Review: Cattle Decapitation – The Anthropocene Extinction
Metal Blade Records
All Access Rating: A

Cattle Decapitation - The
Anthropocene Extinction 2015. 
Subtlety is not Cattle Decapitation's strong suit. Take the gruesome cover art of its latest extreme-metal manifesto, The Anthropocene Extinction, for instance, depicting ecological catastrophe so severe that earth has become a lifeless wasteland strewn with mangled corpses. And the title of this apocalyptic horror show suggests the planet itself is already in its death throes, choking on the polluting behavior of humanity. If that is, indeed, the case, Cattle Decapitation is going out with guns blazing, these angry giants constructing colossal sonic thrill rides to oblivion and delivering fiery, tempestuous sermons of judgement and recrimination tossed about by massive, pummeling riffs, crazed drumming and a variety of seething vocal textures that spit venom and hoary rage in exciting, sensory overloads "Mutual Assured Destruction," "Not Suitable For Life," and "Apex Blasphemy." The sheer brutality, calculated aggression and chaotic math of "Manufactured Extinct" are awesome to behold, as is the all-consuming closer "Pacific Grim" – its menacing, heavy chugs, widescreen guitars and machine-gun rhythms creating an overwhelmingly intense aural experience that is not for the faint of heart. And such is also the case for "The Prophets of Loss," where one Philip Anselmo lends a hand with vocals, and "Plagueborne," with its neck-breaking tempo changes, as the breathtaking violence and enormity of The Anthropocene Extinction leaves one dazed and disoriented, with the unexpected shifts of "Clandestine Ways (Krokodil Rot)" and the blazing solar storm that is "Circo Inhumanitas" sucking all the air out of your lungs. What's truly chilling, however, is the funereal acoustic dirge "Ave Exitium," as hopeless and forlorn a eulogy as you're likely to ever hear. There are about a thousand different maneuvers taking place within the stretched boundaries of every track, and each one will send jaws plummeting to the floor, and the crazy thing is, for all the surprises they spring, they all make perfect sense. Even a few compelling strains of melody can be gleaned from the madness. A nominee for album of the year, without question.
– Peter Lindblad

CD Review: Peter Frampton – Premonition, When All The Pieces Fit, Now

CD Review: Peter Frampton – Now
Omnivore Recordings
All Access Rating: A

CD Review: Peter Frampton – Premonition
Omnivore Recordings
All Access Rating: B-

CD Review: Peter Frampton – When All The Pieces Fit
Omnivore Recordings
All Access Rating: C


Peter Frampton - Premonition 2015
Wandering in a neon wilderness of New Wave, punk and hair metal in the 1980s, Peter Frampton had lost his way. A string of commercial defeats had considerably dimmed his star, that is until 1986's Premonition yielded the catchy minor mainstream-rock hit "Lying."

It was a brief glimpse of the old Frampton, a spirited romp of pop defiance with good, sure hooks, but Premonition's heavy reliance on synthesizers and glossy '80s production values pushed Frampton's distinctive guitar work into the album's cobweb-covered recesses – so much so that the record now sounds horribly dated, thin and soulless. Whatever promising melodies and song structures he'd come up with were lost in a technological junkyard, and Premonition came off as a desperate attempt at relevancy, just like its equally disappointing successor, 1989's wet bag When All The Pieces Fit

While each have their moments, the two records, soon to be reissued by Omnivore Recordings along with 2003's Now – each boasting expanded artwork and extensive liner notes drawn from interviews with Frampton – find the Humble Pie co-founder grasping at straws, attempting to retool his earthier blues and hard-rock aesthetics for a modern digital age that seemingly wanted nothing to do with him, and often failing at it. Generic songwriting poisons "You Know So Well," the title track and the syrupy power ballad "All Eyes On You." Much of this material has aged badly, going the way of the floppy disk with all of its synthetic window-dressing. And yet, Premonition can be bright, boisterous and exude a sunny charm, as "Stop," "Hiding From a Heartache," "Into View" and "Call of the Wild" – as well as smartly designed bonus tracks  "So Far Away" and "Nothing At All" – can attest.

Peter Frampton - When All
The Pieces Fit 2015
Three years later, fresh off taking part in David Bowie's "Glass Spider Tour," Frampton stumbled with the drab, lightweight When All The Pieces Fit. The subdued 1989 effort saw him collaborating with The Rembrandts' Danny Wilde and John Regan, and the results were mixed, to say the least. While the pop buoyancy of "Back to the Start" and the wheeling, infectious chorus of "Hard Earned Love" contain some spark of inspiration, the rest of When All the Pieces Fit sounds unconvincing, especially on "Hold Tight," "Holding On To You," "More Ways Than One" and "My Heart Goes Out to You."

All these years later, the cold and aloof When All The Pieces Fit still gives the impression that Frampton was disconnected with contemporary pop music at that time, that he was a fish out of water when it came to using new studio gadgetry. Even the occasional burst of guitar fireworks feels forced, the album's leaden stomps and flimsy melodies clumsily groping for relevance.

Peter Frampton - Now 2015
Redemption would arrive with 2003's Now, undoubtedly the gem of this lot and one Frampton's finest efforts. A vastly underrated work, this is Frampton completely comfortable in his own skin, honest to a fault and staying true to his roots. Keeping it simple, Frampton engages in electrified, riff-mongering rockers such "Verge Of A Thing" and "I'm Back" wearing coats of distorted fuzz to stay warm, then gnashes his teeth while delivering a stirring rendition of The Beatles' "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," his impassioned tribute to George Harrison.

A gentle reading of "Mia Rose," this soft, glowing ballad that is positively luminous and quite possibly one of the best songs he's ever recorded, is exquisitely rendered, as is the brooding, confessional "Hour Of Need," its soul-baring poignancy couched in enticing hooks that evolve wonderfully. Frampton's nuanced guitar work is sublime on Now, at once elegant and understated, but then turning somewhat rougher around the edges, matching the emotional turmoil of these songs. This time around, he turned to George Kennedy (Bonnie Raitt, Garth Brooks, Alison Krauss) as a songwriter, and the man who wrote Eric Clapton's "Change The World" helped Frampton recapture the magic.

Now finds Frampton confronting inner demons and wrestling with them in songs artfully arranged and deftly executed, where Premonition and Where The Pieces Fit are valuable only in that they tell a cautionary tale of an artist straying from his principles. On the surface, it seem odd to lump these three releases together, but in a way, it makes perfect sense. Frampton wasn't afraid to experiment in the '80s, but in doing so, he never quite figured out how to reconcile his songwriting values with all the new toys at his disposal. But, in the end, with Now, he found his way back with a record that deserves to be celebrated and not forgotten.
– Peter Lindblad

Anthrax on the verge

Changing singers on the fly in hopes of 'Spreading The Disease'
By Peter Lindblad

Anthrax's "Spreading The Disease"
Neil Turbin's days with thrash-metal titans Anthrax were tumultuous to say the least.

Tensions between the band and its lead singer in the early- to mid-'80s were always simmering and threatening to boil over. In late summer 1984, the divorce was finalized, leading to a search for a new vocalist.

For a brief time, Anthrax hitched its wagon to former Skid Row singer Matt Fallon. Carl Canedy knew the shotgun marriage wasn't going to work.

"After a week of working with him, he just wasn’t cutting it," said Canedy, drummer for '80s metal hellions The Rods and an executive producer on Anthrax's Armed and Dangerous EP, as well as their classic Spreading The Disease album. "He wasn’t the right fit for the band. And I told the band to get to this next level, this isn’t the guy who’s going to take you there."

Most recently, Canedy was involved in overseeing an archival release of material from his overlooked, pre-Rods band Kelakos called "Uncorked: Rare Tracks From a Vintage '70s Band." An East Coast '70s act whose classic-rock sound had more in common with Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Santana and the Allman Brothers than the Judas Priests and Black Sabbaths of the world, Kelakos wouldn't survive long, their music perhaps too diverse for a major label to stomach.

In the mid-'80s, Canedy was part of a team trying to shepherd Anthrax into major-label stardom. He believed it was only a matter of time before they broke it big.

"Having worked with a lot of bands, and having gone through the process of wanting to be signed to a major label and what it takes and how focused you have to be, I saw that in spades with them," said Canedy. "Those guys were laser focused and super talented. I remember telling (drummer) Charlie (Benante), 'You’re going to be a Modern Drummer guy. People are going to fall in love with your playing."

Anthrax had a lot going for them, especially with manager Jon Zazula, aka Jonny Z, in their corner. The founder of Megaforce Records, Zazula was consulted about the issue with the lead vocalist. Quickly and decisively, a decision was made.

"I told the band, and they said, 'Get Johnny on the phone,' and I called Johnny Z, their manager and record label [guy], and I told Johnny what was up, and he said, 'Put the band on the phone,'" recalls Canedy. "And they went into the conference room, and five minutes later, they put me back on the phone with Johnny, and he said, 'He’s over.' He said, 'I’m putting him on the bus.' And that was it, and they made that decision. They were doing their third record, and there was no singer. It was incredible … it was as brave a move as I’ve ever seen, but they knew. They understood what I was saying, and they did it."

Through friends, Canedy was able to help Anthrax find Joey Belladonna, and the rest was history. "And he came in and it was just a great fit," said Canedy. "I mean, we knew right away he was the guy."

Anthrax - Armed and Dangerous
Still, the Anthrax camp didn't want to throw Belladonna into the deep end right away, according to Canedy. "Well, Armed and Dangerous was really an EP, and it was done rather quickly and for product for them," remembers Canedy. "And so it was kind of a transition record with Joey in the band. It was them trying to gel. It kind of got them a sense of who they were with Joey, so they could make the album, Spreading the Disease."

To Canedy, the die was cast. Anthrax was well on its way to becoming part of thrash's so-called Big Four, and Spreading The Disease put them over the top. Canedy could feel it was Anthrax's time to go to the next level.

"Absolutely. Yeah, we were seeing things happen," said Canedy. "Major labels were paying attention. Jonny had, by that time, Metallica, who was doing very well. Anthrax had already done very well. And then, it was just clear that this was the album that was going to get them to a major label. And we knew that. We were focused on that. We were focused on making sure we were going to get them to that major label."

Mission accomplished, as Spreading The Disease was released on Oct. 30, 1985, through Megaforce Worldwide/Island Records, and the unhinged single "Madhouse" was unleashed. Belladonna wasn't the only newcomer, as Anthrax also brought bassist Frank Bello onboard to replace Dan Lilker. Anthrax's classic lineup was born, and soon they'd break free of the thrash-metal underground.

CD Review: Praying Mantis – Legacy

CD Review: Praying Mantis – Legacy
Frontiers Music srl
All Access Rating: B+

Praying Mantis - Legacy 2015
Keeping a stable lineup together was always difficult for Praying Mantis, whose role in growing the New Wave of British Heavy Metal into a force to be reckoned with in the '80s was relatively minor, as opposed to say, Iron Maiden or Motorhead.

Not as rough or as edgy as their denim-and-leather clad NWOBM brethren, Praying Mantis – established by brothers Tino and Chris Troy in 1973 – eschewed traditional metal to explore the possibilities melodic hard-rock had to offer, even as its revolving-door membership tested the strength of its hinges by continously spinning over the years.

For their 10th studio album, Legacy, Praying Mantis welcomed two new members into the fold in lead vocalist John Cuijpers and drummer Hans in't Zandt to a band that also includes guitarist/vocalist Andy Burgess. The changes are more than cosmetic, especially with a greater emphasis on larger-than-life production and a different singer belting out these gloriously dramatic anthems that, at times, fly awfully close to the blazing, blinding sun of bombastic power-metal, especially on a theatrical "Eyes Of A Child," the soaring epic "Against The World" and a defiant "Fight For Your Honour."

Were this 1985 and not 2015, the searing, streaming jets of twin-guitar leads, trampling rhythms, dynamic vocals and flashing synthesizers that carry Praying Mantis on their broad shoulders might have a puncher's chance at getting FM airplay, as radio-friendly, bittersweet fare such as "The One," "All I See" and the winding, night-crawling, aural metropolis "Tokyo" make for rousing eargasms. As it is, Praying Mantis will simply have to take pride in crafting flowing, captivating songs of resilience, romance and adventure with big climaxes for whoever's still listening for such things in music today. And while the sometimes all-too-familiar, completely over-the-top sound of Praying Mantis may have exceeded its expiration date, it hasn't become exasperatingly stale. There is a freshness and vitality to Legacy that puts it right up there with beloved works Time Tells No Lies and Predator In Disguise – the vivid, sci-fi inspired album art from Rodney Matthews only making the whole experience all the more enjoyable.
– Peter Lindblad

Heart Of Storm merges dance and rock

Supergroup convenes to back Russian ballet

Heart Of Storm is a live mix of
rock music and Russian Ballet.
Take the glitzy bravado and loud bluster of a rock concert, pair it with the athletic beauty of Russian ballet and it all adds up to Heart Of Storm.

A unique artistic and cultural experience, Heart Of Storm will make its premiere in Los Angeles on Friday, July 24, and Saturday, July 25, at the Orpheum Theatre.

As for the all-star band that will be accompanying the dancers live, it'll feature many familiar names, including keyboardist Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater), drummer Gregg Bissonette (Ringo Starr, Electric Light Orchestra), guitarist Doug Aldrich (Whitesnake, Dio) bassist Tony Franklin (The Firm, Jimmy Page, Paul Rodgers), Brent Woods (Warrant, Sebastian Bach), and saxphonist Brandon Fields (Tower Of Power, George Benson).

They teamed up with talented young Russian-Korean choreographer Stas Tsoy to tell the tale of a young major named Storm as he travels the labyrinthian depths of life, death and love with stunning visuals and powerful, and oftentimes symphonic, music. The dancing talent spans the Bolshoi Theatre, Swan Lake and the Nutcracker. Visit www.redrockballet.com for more information. To get tickets to the show, go to tickets@redrockballet.com.

Sherinian, Bissonette, Aldrich and Franklin took time out to talk about the project in this interview:

When did the whole idea for Heart Of Storm evolve from? What sparked it for you?
Derek Sherinian: The creator Alex Semenov approached me in late 2013 to produce and play on a rock instrumental record. Alex decided to have choreographed ballet performing live along witha rock band, he found Stas Tsoy, a talent Russian-Korean choreographer, and this sounded like an exciting, unique opportunity to me.

What was your vision for this artistically? What message do you guys want to get across? What should people walk away with?
Doug Aldrich: Artistically, I thought this was a cool fusion of arts, and I wanted an opportunity to push myself in some new directions after Whitesnake. This was really something interesting and obviously with a great bunch of friends that also happen to be at the top level as musicians. I hope to have people walk away feeling happy to see and hear something fresh that is a new idea.

Derek Sherinian: Heart Of Storm is Alex Semenov's vision. My job is to help him see his vision through on the musical end.

Tony Franklin: Heart Of Storm is part rock show, part Russian ballet – with a killer band, featuring top-name rock musicians – and world-class Russian ballet. "Storm" is the main character, and the storyline follows his tumultuous journey of love, anger, jealousy and death. But this is not just a dance show with accompanying rock music. Both the band and ballet are interwoven into a unique, powerful and emotional performance. I've never seen anything like it.

How did the idea of fusing the music with ballet come about? How did you create the songs to fit with the ballet choreography?
Derek Sherinian: The music was written first, and then the dancing was choreographed afterwards.

Doug Aldrich: Music has always been in ballet I guess, but this is a fresh approach that the composer felt would be more intense and fit well with the choreography. It could possibly reach a new audience that might otherwise skip ballet. I myself have never been to a ballet, but now I'm interested. The Red Rock Ballet is made up of very talented young dancers from Russia.

What is the story of Heart Of Storm? Tell us about the production and look of the show.
Tony Franklin: The Orpheum Theater is the perfect setting. In the Broadway Theater District of Los Angeles, it has a long history dating back to the 1920s. The list of artists who've performed here is remarkable, including Judy Garland, the Marx Brothers, Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Little Richard, Stevie Wonder – the list goes on. "American Idol" and "Amerca's Got Talent" are also filmed here. The Orpheum stage has been transformed to accommodate the unique Heart Of Storm production. The lights, the setting, the sound and performances are all fine-tuned to express the broad array of emotions of the storyline. I'm really excited to be part of Heart Of Storm.

Doug Aldrich: I was so immersed in learning the material that I didn't really know much about the story at first. But once we started to run the show together, it all made sense ... The look seems to be heavy ... very edgy, but with classic ballet feel in spots. In other places, it probably pushes the limit a bit.

Can you elaborate on the band's chemistry? What's the dynamic like?
Derek Sherinian: Everyone in this band is not only incredible musicians, but incredible people as well. Tony Franklin and Gregg Bissonette are hands down the nicest rhythm section in rock! I am truly blessed to be working with such a great team of people across the board.

Doug Aldrich: Derek is our fearless leader and has put together a very diverse bunch of people to perform the music. I know Derek has been working on this for some time. Then I happened to be in Moscow for a day, and I got a phone call from Brent Woods saying that he and Derek were out at a party in town and asked if I wanted to join (laughs). I was asleep and jet-lagged, so I didn't go, but a few months later Derek started to think about this production and called me to play. I have to say, it's been a huge amount of work for me to get up to speed, but we had so much fun that time has flown by. We are all very different people, so it feels unlike any project I've been in. Gregg and Brent secretly coordinated wardrobe the entire time showing up with the same shit and shoes or whatever ... tony is truly one of the nicest people you could ever meet. His playing is just astouding ... so giant. Like all the guys I reckon. Brandon has just blown me away ... with horns and flutes!! He has been very patient wiht his as he has not had to deal with a band this loud. But he seriously shreds if that can be deemed a compliment from me. Derek is that bad boy dude with chops that will back it up. Derek and Brent are serious gearheads, which, of course, I can relate to. Derek has more gear than just about anyone I know ... I get it. There is always more room for something new. Brent plays so awesome. I'm really glad to work with him. He is playing solos as well, but also doing acoustic work, which is very important with a ballet. Gregg is joking around all the time ... always, but he is just an insanely talented player. He, like all the guys, has played with the best of the best, 'cause they are that good.

Gregg Bissonette: The band chemistry is awesome. I've been a fan of all of these musicians for many years and have played with everyone before except Brent Woods, but now he's my new best friend. The first day I showed up for rehearsal, I was wearing a red Foo Fighters shirt and black jeans and Brent was wearing a red shirt and black jeans. Everyone commented on it, so each morning we decided to mess with the others by calling ahead of time and wearing the same colors. It took them a while to figure it out, and they thought we were on the same wave length, but they quickly caught on. We all take the music seriously, as a drummer in the band you have two-man jobs: the tempo and controlling the dynamics ... bringing it way down and way up when you need to. Brandon is one of the world's greatest sax players and I've played with him at the Baked Potato Jazz club in L.A., on his solo albums, and we were in the house band for the Latin Grammys a few years ago. I was in a band with Derek called Jughead, which my brother, Matt Bissonette (Elton John's bassist) and Ty Tabor (King's X) were also in. Derek and I played in Italy with Yngwie Malmsteen and Deep Purple, that's where I played with Doug Aldrich as well. Tony Franklin and I have played a ton together over the years and have been great pals for 20 years. We played years ago on a movie called Endless Summer 2. It was a surf movie. We've done a million albums together and toured all over the world. Derek is the glue that brought us all together. He is a great guy, a fantastic musician, and a wonderful producer and band leader. The music we are playing with Heart Of Storm is written so well that it lends itself to having a lot of dynamics, (playing at different musical volume levels). It's very passionate music and when everyone sees the dancers and storyline, they will love it and see that it's all brilliantly connected.

CD/DVD Review: Asia – Axis XXX Live in San Francisco MMXII

CD/DVD Review: Asia – Axis XXX Live in San Francisco MMXII
Frontiers Music srl
All Access Rating: B+

Asia - Axis XXX Live in
San Francisco MMXII 2015
What impressive pedigrees they all had. Four of the biggest names in British progressive-rock deciding in 1981 to go in together on a new project called Asia certainly created a buzz, the very name suggesting exotic sounds, provocative philosophical insight and difficult-to-decipher musical dialects. Oh, the possibilities ...

As it turned out, Asia wasn't interested in all that. They set out to craft unabashedly commercial songs that made prog palatable to the masses, choosing accessible concision over complex, multi-part arrangements, and their gambit worked. Asia's 1982 debut landed at No. 1 in the U.S. like a message in a bottle with a lovesick note inside, a grand romantic gesture that stole many a heart, even as critics mercilessly slagged their banal sentimentality and general blandness.

It was never cool to like Asia, as the movie "The 40-Year Old Virgin" so painfully articulated for anybody who even considered them a secret guilty pleasure. Still, some 30 years after their formation, here was the original lineup of John Wetton (King Crimson, UK), Steve Howe (Yes), Carl Palmer (Emerson, Lake & Palmer) and Geoff Downes (The Buggles, Yes) broadcasting one of its last magical performances together at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco on Nov. 7, 2012, on AXS TV in spectacularly vivid high-definition video and audio – now available as an entertaining two-CD/DVD release from Frontiers Music. They must have been doing something right all those years.

As triumphant and wistfully romantic as ever, Asia puts on a surprisingly vibrant show awash in nostalgia, as old favorites such as a pulsating and effusive "Here Comes The Feeling" and "Sole Survivor," with its silvery flashes of synthesizer, mix with the bittersweet rehashing of "Only Time Will Tell" and the melodic flourish of "Heat of the Moment" that closes the set. Drama and dissonance are found in "Face on the Bridge" and "Time Again," respectively, and more recent material like "Tomorrow The World," off Asia's 2012 effort XXX, races, while the obscure "Ride Easy," a b-side for "Heat of the Moment" and later included on Aurora, offers pleasant hooks with a touch of heartache.

Given the opportunity to display their musical chops, Howe and Palmer take full advantage, with the drummer showing both power and precision on his solo in "Holy War." Meanwhile, Howe, ever the ingenious guitar player, deftly negotiating a tricky acoustic guitar solo in "Pyramidoloy" with warmth and lush tonality that slides seamlessly into his jaunty sketching of "Golden Mean." Downes' piano is the best thing about "Don't Cry," where Wetton goes embarrassingly overboard trying to get the audience to sing along like some oily lounge singer, and his synths are majestic in raising up "I Know How You Feel." Not at all incendiary or untidy, Axis XXX Live in San Francisco MMXII, instead, pleasantly illustrates Asia's gift for both melody and melodrama, and it seems Asia has passed the test of time.
– Peter Lindblad

CD Review: Cathedral – In Memorium

CD Review: Cathedral – In Memoriam
Rise Above Records
All Access Rating: B

Cathedral - In Memoriam 2015
Taking doom metal to a more solemn and spectral place than it had ever gone before, Cathedral's 1991 album Forest of Equilibrium was grim, suffocating stuff, indeed.

A monastery of singer Lee Dorrian's animalistic grunts, funereal melodies and spellbinding, majestic swells of malevolence greeted its visitors. With an air of mystery about it, the seminal work of these monks built monolithic walls of blackened, disciplined riffs, and its architecture was jaw-dropping. However, prior to constructing this imposing sonic citadel, the UK gloom mongers made a self-financed cassette recording  – originally released in October, 1990 – that documents Cathedral's raw stages of early development, and for that alone, it's an interesting find.

Seemingly caked in dirt and filth and so punishingly heavy it damages internal organs, the lurching, lumbering four original tracks  – "Mourning of a New Day," "All Your Sins," "Ebony Tears" and "March" – slam into ears like bombs, all swinging like a weighty pendulum back and forth in monotonous fashion, as the rusted-out gears of Cathedral's machinery grind ponderously along. Only minor differences in tempo and tonality separate them, as Dorrian's gnarly, but more discernible, vocals seem to bellow from the bowels of the earth – here is the wicked progeny of Pentagram and Saint Vitus, covered in afterbirth and screaming for the cord to be cut, where Forest of Equilibrium sounded somewhat more polished, more mature and dynamic.

And while the primordial rawness and deliberate churn of these embryonic efforts is jarring, they're also strangely absorbing, as In Memorium heaves to and fro, until ramming its massive hull into a five-song clutch of live recordings from Holland and Belgium in 1991. Here are found concert versions of "Ebony Tears," "All Your Sins" and "Mourning of a New Day" that implode on impact, growing in strength, with gleaming, melodic twin-guitar arcs shooting out of sonic rubble and Cathedral also bludgeoning "Neophytes for Serpent Eve" and "Intro/Comiserating the Celebration" to death. The CD version of Rise Above Records' release of In Memoriam comes with a live DVD of Cathedral performing at Groningen in the Netherlands that same year, making for a compelling package stuffed with an eight-page booklet and rare photos. And there's a vinyl edition as well, all of which present a picture of a nascent band, now defunct, finding its way and transforming a genre into something even more menacing and foul.
– Peter Lindblad

CD Review: Jeff Beck – Performing This Week ... Live at Ronnie Scott's – Special Edition

CD Review: Jeff Beck  Performing This Week ... Live at Ronnie Scott's Special Edition
Eagle Rock Entertainment
All Access Rating: A-

Jeff Beck - Performing This Week ...
Live at Ronnie Scott's 2015
It's 2007, and Jeff Beck has taken over London's Ronnie Scott's club, doing a much-ballyhooed series of shows there that called many of the guitar god's most fervent acolytes to worship. If anybody deserves his own church, it's Beck, whose long, remarkable career has seen the virtuoso performer constantly push the envelope and explore a wide variety of genres, while also expanding the limitless possibilities of his chosen instrument.

On the two-CD concert album Performing The Week ... Live at Ronnie Scott's – Special Edition, out via Eagle Rock Entertainment, Beck delivers a series of powerful musical sermons before packed houses, as this set compiles all of the live tracks from those shows for the first time on LP and CD – other CD and DVD versions were released in 2008 and 2009, respectively.

Were it not for the singing of Joss Stone sucking the very soul out of "People Get Ready" by over emoting to such ridiculous extremes, disc two would have been far more enjoyable, highlighted by a smoky reading of "Blanket," with siren Imogen Heap lending her seductive vocals to a song ensconced in midnight hour ambiance, and "Little Brown Bird," where Beck and Eric Clapton cook up a simmering, slow-cooked blues meal that seems to drip from their chins. Heap rejoins Beck for a scorching rendition of "Rollin' and Tumblin'" – that's also viciously jarring in parts – prior to a feverish seven-song rockabilly workout with the Big Town Playboys, marked by spirited, swaggering rumbles "Race With The Devil" and "Crazy Legs," and Stone's train wreck is all but forgotten.

More serious business is attended to on disc one, with inspiring forays into jazz fusion, space-age funk and snarling blues-rock on a full and diverse instrumental menu. The manic and propulsive "Scatterbrain" becomes a bi-polar episode that athletically ping-pongs all over the place until order is restored, while "Eternity's Breath," "Stratus" and "Big Block" turn heavy and stormy, stopping only to allow Beck plenty of room to roam in expansive clearings – and roam he does, his unpredictable solos encompassing an unheard of range of emotions and techniques. Fluent in seemingly every possible musical language, Beck wrings big drops of pathos out of a poignant "Cause We've Ended as Lovers," agonizing over every blue note, and in his elegant re-imagining of The Beatles' "Day in the Life" develops it into something more meditative and fluid.

And what Jeff Beck live outing would be complete without the exotic and mysterious "Beck's Bolero," a sweeping epic with rich, dark tones that surges and flows with bold artistry in this close environment. Backed by players who employ preternatural instincts to interpret these instrumental pieces with palpable freshness and vitality and furious drumming, Beck is free to be playful and coy, assertive and aggressive, and gently lyrical when soloing or sketching out melodies. Performing This Week ... Live at Ronnie Scott's succeeds both as a survey of Beck's life's work and a testament to his supernatural talent.
– Peter Lindblad