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Roger Glover and the Guilty Party - "If Life Was Easy" (Eagle)
Those expecting the high-octane hard rock of Deep Purple from Roger Glover’s fifth solo album will be surprised, but not disappointed.
16 January 2012Richard McGraw – “Popular Music” (independent)
McGraw has described the process of making this album of covers as “the art of selling out,” and he makes admirable work of it. The song selection for Popular Music runs the gamut from guilty pleasure to hidden treasure, with surprising depth and personality.
13 January 2012'Jon Burrows' – “Elvis Found Alive” (Highway 61 Entertainment/MVD)
This lighthearted collection of fresh material from the “living” King of Rock and Roll plays it mostly straight, but it’s not hard to tell that those involved have their tongues planted firmly in cheek.
29 December 2011John Condron & the Benefit – Eleventh Hour Grace (Em-Press)
Condron notches at least one should-be classic with “Blurred,” which pulls an equal measure of Dream Police-era Cheap Trick glam and classic Dave Edmunds melodic roots-rock.
28 December 2011Dusty Wright – If We Never … (PetRock)
Much of Wright’s material surveys wounds and casualties on the battlefield of love. Judging by this album, Wright has both loved and lost, and If We Never … is his way to mourn and celebrate all of it.
11 December 2011The Rolling Stones - Some Girls: Live in Texas '78 (Eagle Vision)
Of this concert film’s seventeen tracks, seven are drawn from 1978’s worthy Some Girls. Live in Texas is a time capsule from when the Stones’ flame last burned its brightest.
6 December 2011Styx - Regeneration Volume I & II (Eagle Records)
Like Squeeze’s recent Spot the Difference CD, Regeneration faithfully recreates Styx’s classic-rock singles with the band’s current touring lineup. This is both a treat for current fans and a means for fans to thank their heroes for soldiering on.
23 November 2011The Who – Quadrophenia: Director’s Cut box set (Universal Music Enterprises)
For conceptual depth, musical ambition and instrumental command, Quadrophenia remains unmatched among the Who’s canon. This set gives Who fans unprecedented insight into a justifiably beloved album.
21 November 2011Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings – “He Said I Can” b/w “It Hurts to be Alone” – (Daptone)
This 45rpm single demonstrates afresh that the leftovers from soul providers Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings top many artists’ prime cuts. “He Said I Can” is a funky strut, while B-side “It Hurts to be Alone” reinterprets a Wailers classic recorded in 1963.
17 November 2011Peter Gabriel – New Blood / Live in London DVD – (Eagle Vision)
New Blood seems best suited as a gift to Peter Gabriel’s most committed fans – the devotees who are interested to see Gabriel unmake and recreate a favorite song like “Solsbury Hill,” and the ones who want to focus upon the power of his singular voice.
3 November 2011Greg Boerner – Prophetstown (independent)
Greg Boerner is a natural troubadour with acoustic folk/blues chops and personality to spare. Of his four releases, his newest album Prophetstown comes closest to witnessing the artist in the wild.
1 November 2011Joleen Billingham - Marbles - (Blind Bart Records)
This independent project shows a maturity of craft and is worth a listen for fans of female singer-songwriters ranging from Carole King to Alison Krauss. The talent on display here is worth sharing beyond its hometown roots.
29 October 2011The Temptations - 50th Anniversary | The Singles Collection | 1961-1971 (Motown/Hip-O)
Motown giants The Temptations celebrate an astonishing fifty years of pop music history with The Singles Collection. This set is a treasure trove for fans unfamiliar with the Temptations’ early work and the many quality singles that dotted the group’s trajectory from hit to hit.
22 September 2011Queen - Queen 40 Limited Edition Collector's Box Set Volume 2 - (Hollywood)
The appeal of Hollywood’s second Queen box is hearing the band’s familiar singles lifted from the homogenized presentation of greatest-hits packages. Taken together, these albums present a formidable band with rare songwriting and performing depth, and one which was both willing to take risks and able to get away with them.
1 September 2011Rainbow - Live in Germany 1976 - (Eagle)
After departing the best lineup of Deep Purple, guitar hero Ritchie Blackmore launched the heavy-hitting and mystical Rainbow with vocalist Ronnie James Dio. The band’s most potent lineup would create only one studio album, but is featured on this live set. The centerpiece is the self-contained hard rock opera “Stargazer,” which must have blown stoned minds in 1976.
15 August 2011Joey Molland of Badfinger - Chicago, IL - Saturday, August 6, 2011
Guitarist and songwriter Joey Molland of ‘70s power-pop giants Badfinger was special guest at the Fest for Beatles Fans in Chicago. In addition to an interview with local Breakfast with the Beatles DJ Terri Hemmert, Molland joined the festival’s house band Liverpool for a concert. The set included Badfinger classics “Baby Blue,” “Day After Day,” and “No Matter What.”
![What's Going On: 40th Anniversary [2 CD/LP Super Deluxe Edition] [Box Set]](http://www.bigtakeover.com/images/11920t.jpg "What's Going On: 40th Anniversary [2 CD/LP Super Deluxe Edition] [Box Set]")
7 August 2011Marvin Gaye - What's Going On: 40th Anniversary (Motown)
The same words are often used, but they’ve never been more true. The title track to Marvin Gaye’s masterful protest album is as relevant today as it was when it was written. This set treats the landmark album with the respect it warrants.
20 July 2011REO Speedwagon – Hi Infidelity 30th Anniversary (Epic/Legacy)
This Midwest pop-rock staple, which introduced the power ballads “Keep On Lovin’ You” and “Take it on the Run,” is 30 years old.
20 July 2011Jaksyzk, Fripp and Collins – A Scarcity of Miracles / A King Crimson ProjeKct (DGM)
These thoughts are presented as a companion to the recent review by Michael Toland.
11 July 2011Derri Daugherty – Clouds Echo in Blue (Galaxy 21)
Clouds Echo in Blue from Choir guitarist Derri Daugherty is an elegant collection of evocative, heavenly tones, tailor made for admirers of ambient instrumental projects such as those by ex-Cocteau Twins guitarist Robin Guthrie, Hammock and Riceboy Sleeps.
23 June 2011Riverside – Memories in My Head (The Laser’s Edge)
With musical touchstones both to its own origins and its continuing evolution, the relatively compact Memories in My Head by Polish progressive metal veterans Riverside provides a tasty morsel for fans awaiting the band’s next full-length, and a good starting point for the newly curious.
22 June 2011The Kinks – Kinda Kinks Deluxe Edition (Sanctuary)
Kinda Kinks‘ secret weapon was revealed when Wes Anderson included “Nothin’ in the World Can Stop Me Worryin’ ‘Bout that Girl” in the soundtrack to his 1998 film Rushmore. Forty-six years following its original release, the tense and paranoid song is still capable of raising the hair on the back of your neck.
16 June 2011Saga – Heads or Tales LIVE (Eagle)
This live set documents a fan favorite album from 1983, and fine work by Rob Moratti during his relatively short time as Saga frontman.
16 June 2011The Kinks – The Kinks Deluxe Edition (Sanctuary)
Imagine hearing “You Really Got Me” fresh for the first time in 1964. It’s still subversive and dangerous, almost fifty years later.
16 June 2011Dawes at The Vic Theatre (Chicago, IL) – Friday, June 3, 2011
Just days before the release of their sophomore album Nothing is Wrong, rising Americana heroes Dawes loped onto the Vic Theatre stage in Chicago to play a set full of Taylor Goldsmith‘s new “heartbreak songs.”
18 March 2011Steve Howe finds the edge
Steve Howe’s career has ranged far and wide since recording a Chuck Berry cover in 1964, produced by legendary recording pioneer Joe Meek. Howe is best known as guitarist for progressive rock veterans Yes. Find out how The Libertines and Babyshambles may help to inform what is no longer just your dad’s “dinosaur rock,” and why there is fresh appreciation for the passion and meticulous craft that Howe and his bandmates deliver after four decades together.
5 December 2010Carole King - The Essential (Legacy)
Legacy’s two-disc set spotlights two sides of Carole King’s career: solo artist and songwriter.
29 November 2010David Bowie - Rare and Unseen (MVD Visual)
This Rare and Unseen entry on David Bowie isn’t essential, but Bowie die-hards will enjoy newly-surfaced interview clips featuring their hero.
3 September 2010Cee Lo Green - "F**k You" (Elektra)
The mild shock of this song’s titillating title, sung by the smooth voice of Gnarls Barkley’s worldwide smash “Crazy,” is probably its first hook. There’s a different reason for endless repeat plays, however. Naughty or not, you’d have to spin the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” to hear a catchier pop-soul single.
30 August 2010"Weird Al" Yankovic - McAnnich Arts Center (Glen Ellyn, IL) - Sunday, August 29, 2010
Yankovic wisely made a point of keeping things current with a fresh batch of funny material. “Skipper Dan” described a failed thespian, doomed to a soul-destroying life of corny jokes as a riverboat guide on Disneyland’s Jungle Cruise attraction. Recent parody “You’re Pitiful” gave a more memorable upgrade to James Blunt’s maudlin “You’re Beautiful.”
18 August 2010The Graveblankets - EP (Crooked Mile)
Chris Arduser’s songwriting is strewn with knowing winks and personal pratfalls, for which the best consolation would probably be “at least you got a song out of it.” “Bad Decisions” is classic Arduser, a summery pop-waltz full of recrimination, wherein the protagonist is thwarted by his own worst intentions.
22 July 2010Sting’s orchestral adventure comes home to Chicago
As comfortably dressed as songs like “Tomorrow We’ll See” and even “Roxanne” seemed to be, the true pleasure for Sting’s pop fans wasn’t necessarily hearing popular songs about prostitutes swathed in sweeping orchestral splendor.
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