Category Archives: pdawg
Neil Young And Crazy Horse – Americana Album Preview
Have you ever been to one of those music groups for little kids? If you haven’t, let me paint the picture for you. You have 5-10 infants in a room with a parent or guardian (usually a mom) and a hired musician usually playing 8-10 kids songs on a guitar while the mom attempts to stimulate the child between a few sentences of adult conversation. Usually the performer is mediocre at best, and that’s just fine since the intended audience isn’t really paying attention, nor are they able to provide feedback beyond falling asleep, drooling or crying. There’s not much you can do to improve these classes, unless of course you can hire a great rock ‘n’ roll band to put their spin on some of these timeless and overdone standards. And that’s exactly what you get on the new Neil Yong and Crazy Horse album, Americana, their first in more than nine years.
It’s Time To Shake Things Up at American Idol
With season 11 of American Idol all wrapped up and Phillip Phillips starting his reign as winner, this summer should be filled with rumours and speculation surrounding the Idol judging panel. Who’s in, who’s out and who’s next to take a seat beside Randy Jackson – I am going out on a limb, but I don’t think Randy is going anywhere.
Slash Returns To Form, John Mayer Transforms and The Hip are At Transformation
Add It To The Collection: Hot on the heels of being inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame as part of Guns ‘n’ Roses, iconic guitar god Slash has released his second solo album, Apocalyptic Love. While the album is billed as a Slash solo album, it has more of a band-like feeling than anything Slash has been involved with since perhaps Appetite For Destruction. Unlike his debut solo effort, Apocalyptic Love features only one lead singer – the very capable Alter Bridge vocalist Myles Kennedy, who also acts as the albums lone lyricist – and the all-Canadian rhythm section of bassist Todd Kearns (Age Of Electric) and drummer Brent Fitz (Theory Of A Deadman/Econoline Crush).
What do Willie Nelson and Adam Lambert have in common? Nothing, but they are both worth checking out in this weeks’ new releases
Add It To The Collection: Willie Nelson, the perennial country outlaw, highwayman and poster boy for the legalization of pot, is on the cusp of his 80th birthday – there must be something to that little green leaf. For more than 60 years Willie has travelled the world bringing is nasally vocal style to country classics and reimagined pop songs alike. If his latest release, Heroes, is any indication, Willie has no plans to slow down and retire gracefully. In fact, Willie continues to push the boundaries of country music and take his music to new audiences. Heroes is far from a perfect album.
The Shins Embrace The Beach Boys, Madonna’s MDNA Is A Let Down and More Music Reviews!
Some interesting new music out there these days, not the least of which is Port Of Morrow by The Shins. Upon hearing the lead-off single, “Simple Song”, I immediately thought of The Beach Boys. From the production, vocal harmonies and falsetto, to the “Don’t Worry Baby” drum beat (actually a lift of Phil Spector’s “Be My Baby” drum sound) it felt like I was listening to a modern-day Brian Wilson composition. Diving deeper into the album that feeling persists as lead singer, guitarist and main songwriter James Mercer uses a vast array of studio tools to create modern, melodic and multi-layered songs with uplifting melodies that set the backdrop for his moody, albeit at times nonsensical, lyrics.
