The Single Life - 7 inches of Fun

Hosoi Bros - Snorlokk

The Hosoi Bros blew me away earlier this year with their tasty slab of 7"vinyl, "Wine Witch" (reviewed here).  So much so, that I immediately asked the crazy lads to contribute to our free compilation album, The Ripple Effect Presents: Volume One - Head Music.  (go check it out, it's still free.)  I was immediately caught up in their trashy brand of post-NWOBHM madness and chunky humor.  Still, the question remained, could they do it again?   As "Snorlokk" the side A of this limited-to-300 hand-numbered 7" spins on my turntable, the answer is "hell freaking yes!"

Still as irrelevant and madcap as ever, Hosoi Bros bring it on thrashy and punky, still with that backbone of NWOBHM riffing.  I don't know what "Snorlokk"is about. Probably another addition to the band's growing pantheon of mythical characters like the Wine Witch.  But I don't care.  All I know is that it's a blitzkrieg assault to my frontal lobe of good, smashing fun.  B-side "Amberlamps" builds upon the impressive riffing with an even heavier, infused-with-hardcore, attack of metal that just refuses to take itself too seriously.  In the end, what the Hosoi Bros are about is great metallic riffing and good fun.  Isn't that what you want?

Another great addition to the bands growing discography.  Available at their bandcamp.  Get one before it's too late.

http://hosoibros.bandcamp.com/album/snorlokk

Revilers - Stand or Fall

Revilers may just be my favorite band on the crushing Patac Label of punk, hardcore and ugly metal.  I like my punk dirty and Oi! With big crushing riffs and gang choruses and brass knuckles and stomping boots.  That's what Revilers brings to the table.  Coming from Boston, home of some of the best American Oi!, like the Streetdogs, it's no surprise that Side One of this sounds like a bastard offspring of UK Subs or any other Godfather of classic Oi!  Darkened, minor key punk with a dabble of melody and gargled vocals gruffs.  It chugs along as if the entire bar were readying for a fist fight with two tracks, "Stand or Fall" and "Tried and True."  Both are just classic slabs of Oi!. 

Side Two picks up the snot and anger as the band finds a more hardcore romp through "Running Out,""State of Fear," and "Road Rage." 

Five tracks of spittle punk for only $4 from Patac.  Well worth the time for Oi! fans like me. 

http://www.patacrecords.com/distro/7-ep/revilers-stand-or-fall-7-black

Spiders - Weekend Nights

Crusher Records first crossed my radar with the amazing second album by Dead Man.  An album that just keeps getting better and better with time.  Since then, I've gone on to explore their entire roster of retro-week-fried bands and have never been disappointed.  Spiders is the latest Crusher release to cross my path and damn if it wasn't one worth waiting for.  Featuring riffs directly trasported from the fuzzy end of 70's metal/beginning of NWOBHM, Spiders crawl out of this 7" with a purpose, full of venom and ready to bite.   Coming from their forth-coming album, Flash Point, "Weekend Nights" the band weighs in full force with a pummeling assault of shredding guitars, spanking grooves and dangerous riffs.  Singer Ann-Sofie Hoyles comes on like a pissed off Ann Wilson as the band simply takes flight behind her.  A classic 70's rock fest if there ever was one. 

Side B features a cover of Swedish garage heroes The Strollers song, "Lies" and is exclusive to this bite-sized vinyl pizza.  Fuzzed out and rollicking, "Lies" digs a bit more into the lost days of 60's fuzz with killer results.  Another great one from Crusher.

www.crusherrecords.com




Restorations - A/B EP

Tiny Engines has never failed to impress as an indy label of post-emo punk since they came onto the scene.  I may be wrong, but I believe the really cool Tiger's Jaw 7" may have been their first release (at least it's the first I saw).  Since then, they've turned out one beautifully packaged, artfully created 7" after another, with a couple of full lengths to boot.  On their ever-growing roster of punk, without a doubt, my favorite band is Restorations.  The Tiny Engines guys are good enough to drop most of their releases into Postman Sal's bag for Ripple review (and many --not all -- have been reviewed) but none get me as excited as that new Restorations release dropping onto my desk.

The A/B EP does nothing to change that.  Two tracks of epic, midwestern-gothic punk.  Watching (er . . .listening) to these guys develop over the years has been a joy, and A/B is by far their most mature songwriting yet.  Jon Loudon's earnest, anthemic howl seems to be the natural successor to the great lost Call front man, Michael Been.  And while there's not a lot of musical similarity here, The Call is a great reference point, because way back 30 years ago, they made albums of conviction and protest and rousing honesty.  Restorations has picked up that mantle, added some ingenious, interweavng guitar lines, a solid rhythm section, and Loudon's smoky vocals to create a massive, massive sound.  Not so much punk in structure as in attitude, the key word for Restorations music is; power.

I can't classify the band and I can't qualify their music.  It resonates somewhere deep with in me.  It's hypnotic when it chooses, anthemic when it wants, and rebellious all the time.  It's like the Replacements but 20 years later after they expanded their sound and set out to create something lasting.

It's Restorations, and I'm ready for more.

State Lines - S/T EP

Coming from New York, State Lines are one of the up and coming, young punk bands trying to lay crown to the open throne and stake out their claim on the post-hardcore, post-emo landscape.  This self-titled Ep is the followup up to their album Hoffman Manor, and finds the lads picking up the pace of their screachy pop-punk and pushing hard against the boundaries between emo and indie rock.

Scratchy, youthful vocals wail over a generally tight rhythm section and a wall of guitar as the twin vocals bleed into four songs full of pensive harmonies and meticulous craft. “Plenty Of Time” is my favorite here, ridng more of an indie-rock approach until the  abrupt tempo change kicks in near the end driving the song into a more traditional punk vein  There's bits of The Replacements here (isn't there always, as well as Green Day in the melodic approach to the songs) but also a lot of Alkaline Trio and Braid or Saves the Day.

Another Tiny Engines release we know we can expect quality.  The vinyl is blue, the packaging nice with lyrics, and the EP is certain to please fans of melodic punk, post hardcore/emo and indie rock.

--Racer

Doommantia Vol 1 Compilation Available to Help Keep Doommantia Alive

Doommantia Vol. 1 compilation was put together to raise money to benefit Ed Barnard of Doommantia.com. He suffered two heart attacks and due to huge medical bills, he is now homeless. Doommantia.com has helped thousands of fans to discover new bands and countless number of bands to promote their music.

Now, 39 bands from all around the world have contributed over four hours of music and a $7 donation gets you these tracks but you can donate more if you have the means to do so. Killer artwork was donated by Coby Ellison. 

All the proceeds will go to help get Ed back on his feet and keep Doommantia alive!

www.doommantiavol1.bandcamp.com

Ripple News - Lost Rory Gallagher Studio Album from 1978 Finally Released

Rory Gallagher - Notes From San Francisco 2CD




~Two-Disc Set, Notes From San Francisco, Via Eagle Rock Entertainment ~

~Lavish Package Includes Never-Before-Released 1979 Concert!~

The story goes that Jimi Hendrix was once asked what it was like to be the greatest guitarist in the world, to which he replied, “I don’t know, go ask Rory Gallagher!”

Rory Gallagher (1948-1995) is simply one of the all-time guitar greats. Slash, The Edge, Brian May, Johnny Marr, Janick Gers, Ritchie Blackmore, Glenn Tipton and Vivian Campbell have all said it. Since practically inventing the Power Trio format in Taste (both Cream and Taste debuted in 1966), Gallagher’s music has stood the test of time and he’s as popular now as he ever was, his influence gargantuan.

The story of Rory’s lost San Francisco album actually starts in Japan. In November 1977, after a grueling six-month world tour, the band flew straight from their last show in Japan to San Francisco to begin working on a new album with famed American producer Elliot Mazer (who worked on Neil Young’s Harvest, Big Brother & The Holding Company’s Cheap Thrills and The Band’s The Last Waltz). Mazer recalls the sessions grew “tense,” as Gallagher thought the mixing process “too complicated.” By the end of January 1978, he had shelved the whole record and broke up his band of the past five years.

Fast forward to 2011 when Rory’s brother/manager Donal allowed his son Daniel to recover the album from the Gallagher archive and begin the process of mixing it with his engineer. Rory said in 1992 he hoped the album would surface one day but only if it were remixed. Bingo. Hearing this historic never-before-issued studio album from a key period of Gallagher’s career (the album that would have been released between Calling Card and Photo Finish) is the Holy Grail for Rory’s fans.

CD #2 is another fabulous discovery: a blistering live album taken from four December nights in 1979 at San Francisco’s The Old Waldorf. In the audience Van Morrison, on stage Rory Gallagher (guitar/vocals), Gerry McAvoy (bass) and Ted McKenna (drums). Daniel Gallagher chose to add the live side to highlight why Rory chose to shelve the studio album and reduce his band back down to a three-piece. Rory, after seeing The Sex Pistols at Winterland during final mixes for his own album, was struck by the stark drama and blunt primitivism of pure punk. “It was as close to Eddie Cochran as you’re going to get,'' he enthused. He had been saying that he wanted to get back to what he called “meat’n’potato rock’n’roll,” a stripped-back primal raw immediacy hearkening back to his Taste days.

A street has been named after him in Paris; a corner in Dublin; a statue in his Ballyshannon birthplace, where The International Rory Gallagher Tribute Festival is held. There’s a Rory Gallagher Place and Rory Gallagher Music Library in Cork. Annual tributes are held in Germany and Japan. The man has sold in excess of 20 million albums. Notes From San Francisco [MSRP $17.98] will be a worthy addition to his canon.

Track Listing:

CD1
1. Rue The Day
2. Persuasion
3. B Girl
4. Mississippi Sheiks
5. Wheels Within Wheels
6. Overnight Bag
7. Cruise On Out
8. Brute Force & Ignorance
9. Fuel To The Fire

BONUS TRACKS
10. Wheels Within Wheels (Alt version)
11. Cut A Dash
12. Out On The Tiles

CD2
1. Follow Me
2. Shinkicker
3. Off The Handle
4. Bought And Sold
5. I’m Leavin’
6. Tattoo’d Lady
7. Do You Read Me
8. Country Mile
9. Calling Card
10. Shadow Play
11. Bullfrog Blues
12. Sea Cruise 

Here it: http://soundcloud.com/udigimktg/rory-gallagher-rue-the-day

www.rorygallagher.com

Bob Corritore And Friends - Harmonica Blues

Although the modern mouth organ was invented in the early 1820's in Vienna, Austria, it wasn't until 1857 when Matthias Hohner shipped one of his creations to relatives in the United States that the blues harp began to evolve.  It is said that it was so portable and such a hit that even Abraham Lincoln carried one in his pocket.  It became the Civil War soldier's portable orchestra and was known to be played out west by lawman Wyatt Earp and outlaw Billy the Kid.    

Harmonicas were first recorded in the 1920's on "race records" - music intended for African Americans.  These recordings memorialized great blues harp players such as Walter Horton and Sonny Terry.  The second great wave of American blues pocket piano players came in the 1950's with such notables as Sonny Boy Williamson, II, Little Walter, Big Walter Horton and Howlin' Wolf.  This was the era when the mouth harp met the microphone which allowed the instrument to be heard above the electric guitar and drums.  The sound became integral to the bump and grind music of the day.  It is this era, the 1950's-early 60's, that Bob Corritore and Friends recapture on Harmonica Blues.

The disk is a 15 track compendium of recordings from 1989 through 2009 of Corritore with some of the greatest blues musicians of the 1950's and early 1960's. Only one song, "1815 West Roosevelt,"  was written by Corritore.  It is an instrumental named after the address for a long gone blues joint called "Club Alex" on the West Side of Chicago that use to feature Muddy Waters.  The remainder of the album is comprised of blues music written and performed by the creme de la creme of early Delta and Chicago blues artists.

For 20 years Corritore has been the host of Arizona radio station KJZZ's weekly radio show "Those Lowdown Blues" a show that brings the music of, and interviews with, bluesmasters to the desert airwaves. Corritore also books all of the entertainment for his nightclub the Rhythm Room (Phoenix's top spot for national touring blues talent.) As you hear on this record he is also a world class blues harmonica player. As a result Corritore was able to assemble a veritable Who's Who list of artists to play with him on "Harmonica Blues."

The album features the late Koko Taylor singing her song "What Kind Of Man Is This?" with Muddy Waters' guitarist Bob Margolin and drummer Willie "Big Eyes" Smith.  Legendary Louisiana Red sings his wife's song "Tell Me 'Bout It." Dave Riley, probably best known as the engineer for the Parliament-Funkadelic bands, warbles delta blues harmonica immortal Frank Frost's "Things You Do." The late Nappy Brown wails on the late Texas country blues legend Andrew "Smokey" Hogg's "Baby Don't You Tear My Clothes."  Robert Lockwood, Jr. performs the immortal Jimmy Rogers' "That's All Right." Big Pete Pearson, known as Arizona's King of the Blues, tackles the late Bob Geddins' "Tin Pan Alley."  Tomcat Courtney, a San Diego blues guitarist who didn't release his first album until he was 78 years old, belts out his blues  "Sundown San Diego."   Eddie "The Chief" Clearwater, a Chicago blues legend and contemporary of Magic Sam, Otis Rush and Freddie King, shreds on vocals and guitar on his blues anthem "That's My Baby." Howlin' Wolf's main piano player until 1968, Henry Gray, sings his song "Things Have Changed" with the late great Chico Chism, Howlin' Wolf's last drummer, on drums.  Chism also joins the inimitable and seemingly ageless Pinetop Perkins on Perkins' tune "Big Fat Mama." Chief Schabuttie Gilliame, a local Phoenix blues legend, performs his blues "No More Doggin'." Dave "Honeyboy" Edwards who, along with Pinetop Perkins are the oldest Delta blues players still touring the US, sings the blues of legendary Memphis Minnie McCoy's called "Bumble Bee."  Lafayette, Louisiana's Carol Fran plays her song "I Need To Be Be'd With" while the late Chism again sets the pace on drums. The album ends with the late Little Milton singing his "6 Bits In Your Dollar" accompanied by Henry Gray and Chism.  Throughout it all Corritore blows a mean harp as an accompaniment to the work of these blues legends.

This is a special album.  It contains what may be some of the very last recordings made by some of the greatest blues artists and sidemen of the 20th Century.  To be able to bring them all together in one album on which they play with such joy, abandon and soul is a thing of beauty.  The album itself is a graduate level class in the harmonica blues given by a master instructor surrounded by the originals who pioneered the genre. 

If you love Delta and Chicago harmonica blues this recording is a must have for your collection.

 - Old School

The Derek Trucks Band - roadsongs

He was a guitar prodigy at the age of 9. By the time he was 12 he was sitting in with Buddy Guy and touring with the Allman Brothers (it helps when your uncle is Butch Trucks, the drummer for the band). He founded his own band when he was fifteen years old, By the time he was twenty he had played with Bob Dylan, Stephen Stills and Joe Walsh. At the age of 22 he married guitarist and vocalist Susan Tedeschi. By his 24th birthday Rolling Stone ranked him 81st on its 2003 list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time." He was the youngest person on the list. At the age of 27 he toured and recorded with guitar god Eric Clapton. When he turned 30 his band released the album "Already Free" which debuted at #19 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart, #1 on the Internet chart, #4 on the Rock chart and #1 on the Blues chart. To paraphrase a beer commercial - He's the "Most Interesting Slide Guitar Player In The World."

The Derek Trucks Band album "roadsongs" is Derek Truck's 2010 offering. It is a two CD, 14 track live album recorded and produced by Trucks (guitar) with Todd Smallie (bass and vocals), Yonrico Scott (drums and vocals), Kofi Burbridge (keyboards, flute and vocals) Matt Mattison (lead vocals), Count M'Butu (percussion and vocals), Mace Hibbard (tenor saxophone and horn arrangements), Paul Garrett (trumpet) and Kevin Hyde (trombone) during two April 2010 concerts at The Park West in Chicago, IL. The two CD set includes performances of six tracks of original material Trucks wrote or co-wrote ("I'll Find My Way"; "Get What You Deserve"; "Days Is Almost Gone"; "Already Free"; "Down Don't Bother Me"; and "Don't Miss Me") plus covers of Bob Dylan's "Down In The Flood"; Frank ("Toots" of Toots & the Maytals) Hibbert's "Sailing On"; Mongo Santamaria's "Afro Blue"; M. Smith's and J. Taylor's "I Know"; Bob Marley's "Rastaman Chant"; Big Bill Broonzy's and C. Segar's standard "Key To The Highway"; Allen Toussaint's "Get Out Of My Life Woman"; Jimi Hendrix's "Who Knows"; and Eric Clapton's and Bobby Whitlock's classic "Anyday."

The song choices are fantastic. The band is tight and each track accentuates the "Most Interesting Slide Guitar Player In The World's" chops. The Allman Brothers' influence can be heard on every track. Trucks regularly produces slide guitar music that is on par with one of the greatest slide guitarist the world has known - the late Duane Allman. The Derek Trucks Band's sound is a mash-up of the Allman Brothers sound with that of the Eric Clapton of Derek and the Dominoes era.   Although Derek Trucks can, and does, play some fingerstyle guitar, this live album is about his slide guitar acumen. It is southern slide guitar bluesrock at its best with a dash of horns added for flavor.

The recording venue for this live album was intimate. According to The Park West website "Park West can hold up to 900 people for receptions and can comfortably seat groups of 100 to 700." It is this intimacy that seems to inspire the band throughout the album. The audience is awestruck, appreciative, but mixed down to be unintrusive. The recording is impeccably mastered by Dave McNair. McNair is known for mastering recordings by Stevie Ray Vaughan, Los Lobos, Bruce Springsteen, Willie Nelson, Miles Davis, Angelique Kidjo, and Kelly Willis.

I don't alway listen to new southern bluesrock slide guitar, but when I do, I choose the Derek Trucks Band "roadsongs." Stay thirsty my friends!

- Old School

Buy here: Roadsongs