As a brand new collection called The Beatles with Tony Sheridan: First Recordings, 50th Anniversary Edition more than proves, even the almighty Fab Four were not immune to this pre-fame plague of skeletons-in-the-audio-closet. For you see, when not binging on Chuck Berry, Preludins and Schnaps in Hamburg’s red-light district throughout their, um, formative years, our heroes also served as in-studio back-up band to one of Britain’s then very biggest rock stars. 

Caveat emptor, however:  The “studio” was in fact an orchestra hall situated within Harburg’s Friedrich Ebert School for Boys and Girls, and John, George, Pete and Paul on his brand new Hofner violin “guitar bass,” although they got to perform two songs themselves, were hired only to provide instrumental and vocal accompaniment behind Polydor Records’ first real rock ‘n’ roll signing, Tony Sheridan.

As producer Bert “Wonderland by Night” Kaempfert once recalled, the prehistoric recording session that started it all early on the morning of June 22, 1961 began inauspiciously enough: “I had to tramp up these narrow stairs to a small attic-like room. They were still in their bunks,” four flights above where, only several hours earlier, Sheridan and the Beatles had completed yet another marathon 7pm – 3am session inside Hamburg’s Top Ten Club. “Apart from the bunk beds, the only other furniture in the room was a chair – with their clothes piled high on it.”

Fearless troopers that they were though, after fortifying themselves with bottles of Coca-Cola and remembering to get dressed again I’d assume, Tony and friends proceeded to lay down four complete songs that first day, and a further three the following morning, performing direct-to-quarter-inch-tape on Friedrich Ebert’s stage through a mere two microphones. Those selections, plus another recorded the following year, have been issued in various formats, and in varying versions, literally thousands of times around the world over the past half century …especially during the mid-Sixties after The Beatles became THE BEATLES and Polydor tried every conceivable way – above-board and otherwise – to squeeze income out of their lone eight “Beatle” recordings.

This go-round The Beatles’ First Recordings, true to form, fill two full discs with thirty-four (!) variations upon those notorious eight: The original mono masters which constituted the majority of the vintage seven-inch Sheridan/Beatles releases, surprisingly vivid stereo mixes which began surfacing worldwide just as the Fabs were in the process of breaking up circa 1970, and even such oddities as American-only versions which added “enhanced” instrumentation plus strange “Medley” mixes from the 1980s.

To be blunt, we’re not talking “All My Loving” or even “All Together Now” here. The First Recordings are quite simply, quite pimply, the sound of five young Brits-on-the-make trying their best to eek out a living recreating the sounds of American rock ‘n’ roll for randy nightclub goers and, just maybe, a few young German record-buyers as well. “My Bonnie (Lies Over The Ocean),” perhaps the best-known of the “Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers” recordings – it was actually released as a Polydor single in October of ’61 – is represented herein via no less than eight variations: Attempts were actually made in the editing room to splice both English and German-language slow introductory preludes onto the original recording, for starters, and as George Harrison himself wrote to a friend about this hit-that-never-was, “When Tony sings, then it’s me playing lead, but the break in the middle is Tony playing. The shouting in the background is Paul.”

Dueling lead guitarists and enthusiastic accompanying hoots and hollers notwithstanding, Bert watched “My Bonnie” quickly drop off the German hit parade and seven months later freed The Beatles – yet intriguingly not Tony Sheridan – from their Polydor obligations altogether. Additional releases from these sessions trickled out across Europe over the next several years, yet even a 1964 single of John Lennon’s sole vocal spotlight, “Ain’t She Sweet” (featuring drums overdubbed by Bernard “Pretty” Purdie …and none too slickly, either; Pete Best does just fine on his own, thank you) failed to enter the American charts at the very height of Beatlemania.

But Tony’s lead solo, by the way, is spectacular.

Of the remaining half-dozen, “The Saints” – yes, as in When They Go Marching In – could’ve slotted easily into the current Presley movie, “Why” is also typical sub-Elvis mulch (though Tony handles the octave-bounding melody quite gamely), “If You Love Me, Baby” aka “Take Out Some Insurance On Me, Baby” cruelly had Mr. Sheridan’s “goddamned” in a concluding chorus edited out for sensitive American ears, “Nobody’s Child” sounds so much better here than in George’s Wilbury remake three decades later, and “Sweet Georgia Brown” – all five versions – really does benefit from Roy Young’s guest piano (P.S.: and so impressed were all involved with Roy that he was actually asked to become a full-fledged Beatle in 1962, but decided to stay behind to lead the house band at Hamburg’s Star-Club instead. Pity).

And then, lest we forget that one-and-only Harrison/Lennon co-composition “Cry For A Shadow,” originally called “Beatle Bop” by the way. It was in 1961, and remains in 2012, one very nifty two-minutes-twenty-three indeed. Truly too cool for words, and the best evidence across these entire two discs that greatness could indeed lay right around the corner for at least three of the people involved in these recordings.

Of course we all know the story that did lay ahead for most of those Beat Brothers. Producer Bert, however, fared quite well throughout the Sixties as well. Besides hitting No. 1 in America three years before “I Want To Hold Your Hand” with “Wonderland by Night,” he rearranged the traditional “Muss I Denn” as “Wooden Heart” for no less than Elvis, wrote hits as well for Capitol artists as diverse as Wayne Newton (“Danke Schoen”) and Nat “King” Cole (“L-O-V-E”), a portion of his score for the film A Man Could Get Killed provided the music behind Sinatra’s “Strangers In The Night” and, perhaps most impressive of all, Kaempfert’s own “Swingin’ Safari” became the theme song for none other than television’s Match Game!

Oddly enough, on much the other hand unfortunately, Tony Sheridan never achieved the fame, fortune, or even notoriety he very much deserves. Though he still lives and performs in Hamburg to this day, Anthony Esmond Sheridan McGinnity is best remembered, if at all, as the man who diligently mentored young Liverpool musicians over countless midnight hours on the Reeperbahn, coaching Gerry Marsden and most obviously John Lennon in the fine art of wearing one’s guitar defiantly high across the chest, legs apart and bobbing, in order to properly play authentic rock ‘n’ roll on stage.

Yet when all is said and sung, as baby-Beatle specialist Hans Olof Gottfridsson’s fascinatingly thorough text in this set’s booklet conclude, “This is The Beatles in the state of becoming. This is what you would have heard in the clubs of Liverpool and Hamburg when you could have hired The Beatles for ten pounds a night.” As such, The Beatles with Tony Sheridan: First Recordings, 50th Anniversary Edition should be considered Required Listening for not only Fabmaniacs who crave to hear every little thing by the lads, but for those curious about the very leather-coated birth of British rock ‘n’ roll itself …not to mention hear what a great drummer Pete Best really was.

Good lookin’ feller too.

http://www.timelife.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=1001&catalogId=10001&productId=205501

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On January 18th, the Rock and Roll Report will go dark for the day in protest of SOPA and PIPA and encourage you, if you are American, to contact your member of Congress and have your voice heard.

In just 7 days, the Senate will vote on forever altering the free and open internet by instituting a new regime of extra-judicial, corporate-led website takedowns. This is a fundamental fight about who has power in society — the people with the means to communicate freely or the governments and corporations that feel threatened.

For the full state of play on the censorship bills, take a look at this infographic we’ve put together. Click here. The clock is ticking, and we’re still 35 senators short of the number we need to kill the bill.

If you’re on Facebook or Twitter, please use these links to spread the word about the protest:

 

Star Anna has released several CDs over the short time as a songwriter. Having started out as simply “Star Anna,” she has since added her band, the Laughing Dogs, to her moniker. The rest of the band consists of: Justin Davis on guitar and vocals, Keith Ash on bass, Ty Bailie on keyboards and Travis Yost on drums. Together, Star Anna and the Laughing Dogs have created the 2011 release, Alone in This Together. And while previous releases featured a style that could have been categorized as “Americana,” the heavier feel to the music on Alone in This Together can only be called Rock and Roll.

Alone in This Together begins with the Justin Davis-penned “Shine”. While the song was written by a guitarist, the song is built mainly around the playing of keyboardist Ty Bailie. The gentle feeling of the beginning of the song builds until all of the musicians begin a slow jam.

One of the best tracks on the release by far is the title track. Star Anna and Justin Davis start the song with only their guitars. About one minute into the song, the pace quickens and the track adds a lot of energy to the album. The song even includes a solo from Pearl Jam’s own Mike McCready that really kicks up the energy. Along with being one of the strongest tracks, it is also the longest, allowing the listener to really enjoy the playing and interaction of all of the musicians, as well as the singing from Star Anna, herself.

“Time” is one track on Alone in This Together where you get to experience the band letting loose. While other tracks build to a point before the band gets into a groove, “Time” starts strong and just keeps going. The playing of the band members, the singing of Star Anna, and the message of moving on make for a strong track that feels like a single.

Another moment on Alone in This Together where you hear Star Anna and the Laughing Dogs just let loose and give it all they’ve got is on the song “Wolves in Disguise”.The guitars from Star Anna and Justin Davis, along with the organ from Ty Bailie create another strong groove on the album. And the solo from Mike McCready once again adds an additional amount of energy that helps make a strong track even stronger.

Every album must come to an end, and of course, Alone in This Together is no different. But for the last track on this release, Star Anna and the Laughing Dogs slow down the pace while keeping the energy level up on the track “High Water”. The final song features justin davis on guitar and Ty Bailie once again playing the organ. The bluesy feel to the music and the lyrics create a song that gives the newest album from Star Anna and the Laughing Dogs a real feeling of closure.

As a bonus track, the title track of “Alone in This Together” is included at the end of the CD in a shortened “radio edit”.

Visit Star Anna’s record label, Local 683 Records.

If ever you want to see how truly talented a band is, see them in concert. If that band can perform the songs as good as or better than on the album, you know that band has the talent to go far.

Not long ago, Washington State-based Star Anna and the Laughing Dogs finally made their way to Cleveland. It was at the Brothers Lounge that the Cleveland area got their first exposure to this talented band. And when the band took to the main stage, you could see many of the people look up from the bar to listen to the music.

For me, it was a please to finally get to experience Star Anna in concert, having written my first article on her three years previous to that concert date. So when Star Anna and the band took to the stage, it was more about the concert experience for me than it was about checking out new music from a new band- I had my initiation to their music years before. For those who had never heard of Star Anna before that concert, she and the band spent the hour or so on stage playing a nice mix of music from Star Anna’s catalog of music. While most of the songs like “Time” and “For When I Go” came from the latest CD of Alone in This Together, the night also contained songs like “All of Her Ghosts” and “Through the Winter,” which came from Star Anna’s last CD entitled The Only Thing That Matters. The band even included “Devil Don’t Remember My Name,” a personal favorite of mine, which was included on the 2008 release, Crooked Path.

The most response, however, came when the band played the title track from the latest release. On “Alone in This Together,” Star Anna and the rest of the band all but blew the doors off of the Greater Cleveland venue. The power that was produced from the band on the song, as well as from the audience afterwards, made the song the most memorable moment of the evening.

The hour-long set from Star Anna at the Brothers Lounge and the Laughing Dogs that night at the Brothers Lounge was over too soon. Hopefully, it won’t be that long before the band comes back again for another concert in the Cleveland area.

Click HERE for a live performance of “Alone in This Together”.

If you fall into this category (and you know who you are) let me assuredly tell you that Bat Sabbath has the power to change your mind and make you a believer in the magic of covers. If you don’t fall into the above-mentioned category, let me still tell you that Bat Sabbath can make you a believer in the magic of covers.

Now, I know that cover albums and cover bands can often be simple, shoddy attempts at quick fame and recognition, but this couldn’t be farther from the truth when it comes to two time Juno-nominated Cancer Bats and their Black Sabbath cover project. These guys are overflowing with talent, charisma and unbelievable stage presence, all of which are skillfully showcased and blatantly obvious during their live shows, no matter what songs they happen to be performing. Heck, they could probably take a folk album and turn it into one worthy of head banging and sore necks nationwide.

What started out as a one-time surprise performance at the Sonisphere music festival in Bohemia earlier this year turned into an 11-date tour of Ontario and Quebec this past month.

Taking Masters of Reality into their own hands – while also taking the liberty to rename the classic, dubbing it Bastards of Reality – Bat Sabbath made it clear from their first moment on that stage why the show had been such a success in Bohemia and why it had transformed into a mini tour. (Which will hopefully spawn a second tour and maybe even some recorded material. Hmm? I’m talking to you, Bat Sabbath. Please, please, please?)

In Montreal, the band performed at infamous punk/rock/metal hotspot Les Foufounes Electriques where the utterly captivated crowd grew bigger and bigger with every song.

Taking to the stage under the cover of darkness, surrounded by a cloud of smoke, with frontman Liam Cormier wearing a black cape (Note to self: capes officially make everything more badass), Bat Sabbath played all the Black Sabbath classics in a set that lasted slightly over an hour and had only one downside: It ended way too soon. I know that might sound cliché, but too bad, it’s the truth.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a band so genuinely humbled by positive feedback and so focused on giving fans what they want. Just to prove my point, let me point out that Cormier was at the band’s merch table till the moment he had to get up on stage and was right back at it the second the set was done and he jumped off into the crowd and walked back over.

And to prove my point again, when fan after fan started getting on stage during the encore song, the band didn’t try and push ‘em off, instead choosing to embrace the mayhem unfolding around them as they continued to play. One lucky fan even had the chance to sing part of the final song as Cormier momentarily took a step back and let him do his thing.

I said it on Twitter right after the show and I’ll say it here again because even days later, I still feel the exact same excitement about this one of a kind show I was lucky enough to finish my 2011 concert season with: Bat Sabbath = a.ma.zing. Black Sabbath reunion tour 2012 should take notes and sleep with one eye open. 

For everything Cancer Bats: www.CancerBats.com

Lower 13 is a Heavy Metal band that makes its home in Parma, Ohio (a suburb of Cleveland). The band is made up of Patrick Capretta on guitar/vocals, Sean Balog on bass/vocals and Eric Kruger on drums. This trio of young musicians creates a heavy metal sound that is in the classic style of bands like Metallica (no Rap-Metal here). It is this classic Heavy Metal style that helped push Lower 13 into the final rounds of the High School Rock-Off here in Greater Cleveland several times, so it seems that their music really does register with
people who hear it. That was very apparent on Saturday Night’s performance
during the 2011 Cleveland Music Festival.

Kicking off a festival could be a gift or a curse, depending on how many people
show up for the early hours of the event. However, since there already was a
sizable crowd in attendance from the panel discussions that finished up a half
hour before, Lower 13 already had a built-in audience for their initial
performance/kick off for the Saturday Hard Rock/Metal night of the Cleveland
Music Festival. And while it is true that they had a captive audience for more
than half of their set as no other band was performing, Lower 13 only lost
about one-fourth of that audience when the second band began.

As with most festivals, the bands performing during the Cleveland Music
Festival were each given about thirty minutes to perform. It was good to see
that Lower 13 did not waste any of their time on stage as they loaded their set
with some of their best material, opting to include only one new song while
showcasing six others that were released on the band’s 2010 release, Rabid.

Once Lower 13 hit the main stage inside Peabody’s Downunder for their set, it
became clear rather fast why the band is one of the most promising bands in
Greater Cleveland. The play between guitarist Patrick Capretta and bassist Sean
Balog was great to watch; but ultimately, it was drummer Eric Kruger who kept
my attention: Very rarely in today’s music world do you see anyone toss their
hair to the beat of the music anymore; especially since the trend of shorter
hair on musicians became the norm. All three members of Lower 13 performed like
a well-oiled machine while playing the set. It would have been nice if they had
been performing for a bigger crowd, but their young ages will hopefully allow
for this band to build a larger following in the near future.

The band’s thirty-minute set during the Cleveland Music Festival was very good
and over too soon. The good thing is that, if you had the band’s release, Rabid, you could have gone home and continued the experience on your own. For those who are just learning about the band right now, here are just a few highlights from Rabid:

The album begins with the title track. “Rabid” begins with a powerful intro by
bassist Sean Balog. After the ten-second intro, the band launches into the
classic Heavy Metal the band is known for. Guitarist Patrick Capretta handles
the vocals on this track with a very energetic delivery, while Balog adds a guttural
vocal to the song, adding more of a Metal sound to the track.

Balog takes a turn on lead vocals on “My Own Reflection”. The song about seeing
only what’s there features some of the best metal created in a long time. It is
on this track that Balog shows the listener his abilities as a singer with his
straight-forward delivery of his vocals, with a few instances where he lets
loose a powerful growl to remind the listener that the band isn’t playing Hard
Rock but Heavy Metal.

On “Distant Memory,” the band’s musical abilities are showcased together,
bringing all of the instruments to the front. The first minute or so features a
rock sound on guitar and bass to showcase these abilities, and then the band
let loose with a full metal approach about two minutes in.

In concert, you can see how well Lower 13 performs as a band; on the album of Rabid, the band proves they have learned well from the classic metal bands that have
come before them. Whether in concert or recorded, this band demonstrates why
they have such a large following in the Greater Cleveland area. Now, the world
just needs to discover this talented metal outfit.

Raised in the comfy Bay Area opulence of 1950′s Atherton, California, a handsome, athletic golden boy suddenly and forever sidetracked by his elder brother’s Elvis and Buddy Holly 45s. He quit the school water polo team, moved with his guitar into a local hotshot band called Fritz, left for L.A. with their singer Stevie, produced with her the magnificently understated Buckingham Nicks album, was soonafter asked to join Fleetwood Mac with whom he helped craft a 40-million-plus-selling album called Rumours and, by 1978 at the age of twenty-nine finally found himself at the very tip-top of his game.

For all intents and purposes, that is. 

But Lindsey’s next creation was a great big deluxe Christmastime four-vinyl-sider called Tusk. It was, to hijack a Neil Young analogy, the sound of a band steering off the middle of the road and heading straight for the ditch. Costing over a million dollars to make then selling less than a fifth of what Rumours had, the anticipated blockbuster was considered a failure, and its prime architect was to take the blame – and the fall, only reluctantly being allowed to occupy the Big Mac driver’s seat ever again.

Of course as we can all plainly see, and even more easily hear from a 21st Century perspective especially, Tusk was in fact only the kind of “failure” Pet Sounds had been for the Beach Boys, or Around The World In A Day for Prince. Realizing as much before most everyone else had however, Lindsey promptly struck fully out on his own with a grand little album called Law and Order in 1981 and has ever since led a kind of dual musical life, dividing his time between solo projects and Fleetwood Mac “reunions.” Or, as he himself calls it, the “small machine” and the “large machine.”

Obviously it’s the former on joyous display throughout Eagle Rock Entertainment’s Songs From The Small Machine: Live In L.A., a two-hour-plus, 19-song DVD of the show Lindsey and his compact combo have recently been touring with in support of the new Seeds We Sow album.

I had the pleasure of attending both a recent concert of Lindsey’s, and even more enjoyably – and quite revealingly – an intimate lecture/performance by the man alone held last month in New York City’s 92nd Street Y, I kid you not. Both settings showed a man who in many ways remains the awestruck kid who long ago lost himself within “Heartbreak Hotel” and “Peggy Sue.” Or, as he himself explains by way of introducing Live In L.A.‘s “Trouble,” “Before there was a band, before there was any commercial success, before there was songwriting, production, there was a young boy listening to his older brother’s records and teaching himself to play guitar. I guess as I evolve and mature as an artist, one of the things that I come to appreciate is that you must look for what is essential. You must look for the center. And, for me, it becomes increasingly apparent that that center is, and has been, the guitar.”

Lindsey of course, like most things he does both on stage and off, never fears to take his guitar playing to vividly wild extremes. The five-song, totally LB-only prelude which opens his show not surprisingly finds Lindsey delicately whispering upon his fretboard one moment, then thrasing his instrument like a deranged, prancing ostrich the next (an engagingly terrifying contrast he often brings to his songwriting itself; witness “That’s The Way Love Goes” later on in the set). Remember, though, that this is a man who in another time and place dared follow “Never Going Back Again” with “The Ledge.”

He is also a man who considers himself more a song stylist than a song writer; a subtle but meaningful distinction perfectly illustrated at Lindsey’s recent Y lecture as he performed an utterly sublime version of the Rolling Stones’ “I Am Waiting.” As Lindsey explained, that song, along with “She Smiled Sweetly” (the final track on Seeds We Sow) represent to him the Stones at their absolute creative peak under the guidance of the brilliant Brian Jones who, like Lindsey, specialized in styling a song with exotic musical and tonal textures. Lessons, no doubt learned early by the young Buckingham via Aftermath and Between the Buttons, which remain apparent throughout the man’s recorded work to this day.

Conversely on the concert stage however, it’s Lindsey’s “small machine” (as in bass/keyboardist Brett Tuggle, guitarist Neale Heywood, and drummist Walfredo Reyes “the groovin’ Cuban” Jr.) who are relied upon to provide perfect instrumental/vocal accompaniment, be it by channeling Brian Wilson and his Friends during “All My Sorrows,” the Quiet Beatle’s “I Need You” A-chord for “Turn It On” …or simply by getting wisely out of the way as their fearless leader’s four-and-a-half-minute (!) guitar solo plows “I’m So Afraid” to its illogical conclusion.

All four guys also treat the crowd-pleasin’ classics “Tusk” (just as delightfully silly as ever – even without USC’s Marching Trojans) and “Second Hand News” (what better way to salute Buddy Holly’s 75th anniversary?!) with due respect yet renewed enthusiasm. But, say what they often will about that large machine, the small one still must rely upon the Big M’s “Go Your Own Way” to get the inhabitants of Beverly Hills’ Saban Theatre completely out of their seats and up on their feets as this particular show, and DVD, draws to a close. It is my prediction that as Fleetwood Mac tours become less frequent in the years to come, Lindsey will lean more and more heavily upon his long-ago work with the large machine to ensure a feasible small-m touring career. I mean, even Paul McCartney more or less performs nothing more than a Beatles tribute show nowadays, doesn’t he?

“For myself, I know that I have made quite a few bold choices,” Lindsey says introducing “Seeds We Sow” Live In L.A. “Choices that were not always popular. But I think time does have a way of revealing things.” Songs From The Small Machine surely reveals an adult child still reflecting upon his brother’s record collection but still active, still flourishing and still reveling in the now. And still painting from, as he likes to call it, the far left side of his palette. The days of forty, or even four-million-selling albums may be long gone for one and all. But you just watch, and listen: I bet Lindsey outruns, and outlasts, them all.

After all, that’s still how they do it in L.A.

http://www.eagle-rock.com/product/EV303739/

www.GaryPigGold.com

What is Mock Rock you ask? Tune in December 19th at 10:00 PM EST either online at www.ckut.ca or in the Montreal area on 90.3 FM and you will find out!

Cheers!

Bill Toms recently travelled from his home in Pittsburgh to Nashville to put the finishing touches on a new release. That album, 2011’s Memphis, is a solid effort and is varied enough to keep the listener anticipating the next track thanks to the creative energy that flows through the tracks that make up the album.

Toms’ new release of Memphis begins with the “title track,” “I Won’t Go to Memphis No More”. While the lyrics of the song suggest that, for personal reasons, it may not be smart to return to that city, the music of the track seems to have been very much influenced by the city itself. The song contains a large amount of Soul flavor thanks in part to the efforts of producer/multi-instrumentalist (and recording artist in his own right) Will Kimbrough. While Toms makes the promise of “I Won’t Go…..,”  the song sure makes it feel as if he had been there.

As is a follow-up to the first track, “Colleen, Goodbye” feels like Toms is keeping his promise to the statement in the first track by leaving for good. The track adds just a touch of sadness to this new release. The music also contains some moving playing by Kimbrough on the mandolin.

Continuing the feeling after promising to leave and saying “goodbye,” Bill Toms offers up the track “Misery”. The Blues-inspired track really brings home the emotions Toms is feeling at that point. The resonator guitar on the track adds just enough of the Blues to have you wishing that the musicians would stay in that frame of mind. But as this isn’t a Blues album, that glimpse into what could have been has to be enough.

The style of the music changes once again, as Toms offers up a track with some spiritual feeling to it with the song “On the Road to Freedom”.  The organ and harmonica in the music add to the spiritual lyrics about heading to a better place.

It’s on the song “Waiting on the Pain” that Memphis from Bill Toms returns to a Soul-influenced direction in the music. “Waiting on the Pain” feels like a group effort as many of the musicians creating the music for this track take turns adding solos to the track. The harmonica playing of Marc Reisman, the saxophone playing of Phil Brontz, the organ playing from “Sudden” Steve Binsberger and guitar from Mark Cholewski create a jam band feeling to make the listener feel as if they are experiencing the band on stage.

On the song “Tear This Old House Down,” the entire musical landscape of the
album changes. The music of the song slows down the pace of the release. It is
on this song that two musicians take center stage: “Sudden” Steve Binsberger
plays the piano and David Henry arranged and played the strings to the song as
Toms sings the lyrics to the track. The strings and piano create a beautiful tune to compliment the powerful lyrics of the song written by Toms.

The energy of the album returns in a big way with the song “Lord, Don’t take me Now”. The song about a man experiencing the high point in his life and not willing to die at that moment features some of the most powerful music on the entire album, making you believe the pleads of the singer.

That same energy continues with the song “I’ve Made Peace Now”. While the music
to this song is calming and beautiful, it’s Toms’ delivery of the lyrics that is full of energy as he sings about coming to terms “with the stranger in me,” as the lyrics say. The piano of Binberger and saxophone of Phil Brontz add to the beauty of Toms’ lyrics.

Memphis from Bill Toms is a very powerful release. The words of Toms are very
passionate in their meaning at times while very powerful at others. And while the songs and talent of Bill Toms are what is important, the album would not be as solid without the help of people like pianist “Sudden” Steve Binsberger, harmonica player Marc Reisman, guitarist Mark Cholewski and drummer Bernie Herr, as well as all the rest. Without these musicians and especially producer/multi-instrumentalist Will Kimbrough. This new release from Bill Toms gives the listener countless reasons to just sit back and enjoy.

CLICK HERE to see the video to “I Won’t Go to Memphis No More”.

Bill Toms recently came to Cleveland, Ohio to perform. When he took to the stage area in The Barking Spider, it was just Toms on acoustic guitar and Bernie Herr (the same drummer from the Memphis release). While it was only just two men in concert, the set was still entertaining, thanks in part to the enthusiasm of Bill Toms. Because of the limited number of musicians on stage (again, only two), one might have expected the music to lack energy. However, Toms and Herr performed as though they were a full band.

During the concert, Bill Toms performed songs from several releases. However, it was the songs from Memphis that were most important as the album had just recently been released.

Some of the highlights of the night included:

“Lord, Don’t Take Me Now.” While performed on only Toms’ guitar and Herr’s drums, this song translated well live. Bill Toms gave everything he had as he sang the lyrics to this song. No energy was lost because of the limited staging of the night.

“I Won’t Go to Memphis No More”. The play between Toms and Herr on this performance made the live version as good as the full band version of the “title track” on the album.

“I’ve Made Peace Now”. As this song on the album is largely based around a piano, this was probably the most different of any of the songs performed that night since Bill Toms is a guitar player. The arrangement for guitar and drums created a version of the song that was just as beautiful as the full band version on the album. Toms and Herr worked well together on this song to make sure the tune was still powerful, despite the lack of other instruments such as the piano.

Whether Bill Toms had come with a full band or not, the duo of Toms and Herr did nothing to disappoint. It would have been nice to see and hear the songs performed with a complete band.
One day, maybe.

(Photo by Fred Maurer)

Check out Michael J. Media, Bill Toms’ PR firm.  

Coasting on a wave of recent success and with an EP trilogy under their belt, The Jezabels have continued carving their path in good fashion and, in this case, it’s with their debut album titled Prisoner.

On the heels of receiving a swagger of award nominations, cracking the US charts with their single ‘Hurt Me’ off of their third EP release entitled Dark Storm, which in itself reached number one on the iTunes charts, The Jezabels have certainly set the bar high for themselves.

Their latest installment is Prisoner, their long-awaited full-length album release. What we’ve come to expect from The Jezabels is here in true form as they continue to deliver the sweet yet edgy and distinguishable sound we know them for. When the distinct and persuasive style and power of vocalist Haley Mary is accompanied by keyboards by Heather Shannon, Sam Lockwood on guitar and drummer Nik Kaloper, we’re gifted with what becomes a fantastical realm of grandiose storytelling.

The first track released from the album, ‘Endless Summer,’ already holds a regular position on the airwaves and certainly sets the scene for the album to be one to share. Tracks like ‘Rosebud’ and ‘Trycolour’ will play a similar role in motivating upbeat visions of warm days, cool drinks and good company on your peripheral. Of course, in true Jezabels style, there’s a mixture of the light and dark and we’ve got those thinkers too, like ‘Peace of Mind’ and ‘Reprise.’

‘Horshead’ will take you on a series of encapsulating peak, but some of the hard-hitting choruses of old favourites like ‘Mace Spray’ and ‘Easy to Love’ run a little short. Nevertheless, Prisoner stays true to the style The Jezabels have stamped as their own and to think, this is only their first album.

Buy the album here.