Rickter Scale Show 199

[Rick and Roll]

airing Sunday, October 19 from 8-11 PM EST and Monday, October 20 from 1-4 PM EST

Five artists featured this week:

Manifesto - "3RP Concert Sampler" (2008):

Floydian Slipp
Red
Random Axis

Tim Malone, drummer for the band, was kind enough to send me this - great stuff. You don't have to be at the show to enjoy the sounds - the trio is tight. That is indeed the Crimson classic - covered nicely and patiently - the song is never rushed and builds the way it was intended. "Random Axis" may be their best tune.

Spock's Beard - from "Snow" (2002):

Made Alive/Overture
Stranger In A Strange Land
Long Time Suffering
Love Beyond Words
Devil's Got My Throat
Open Wide the Flood Gates (Parts 1 & 2)
Solitary Soul
Wind At My Back

When I first purchased this I was disappointed - and put it down for a long time. I recently revisited it, and am now wondering what I was thinking. What a fine record. Neal Morse's last SB record utilizes the talent of the band better than ever - serving as the springboard for Nick D. to be front and center on subsequent records. We'll hear most of side 1, hitting the jazz rock of "Devil" and through the awesome "Solitary Soul", culminating with the anthem "Wind At My Back". The music has a lot of depth, making one wonder what might have been.

Robin Trower - from "Passion" (1987):

Caroline
Secret Doors
If Forever
Passion
Night
Bad Time

This is one of his lesser known records, the first to employ the vocals of Davey Pattison, former Gamma (Ronnie Montrose) vocalist. After his great
70's records, Trower hit a lull with records like In City Dreams, until he teamed up with Jack Bruce to do the BLT and Truce releases. Passion is more slick (due the production of bassist Dave Bronze), and sometimes goes into straight ahead rock. This is very evident on the opening track, one of my favorite Trower tunes. Davey Pattison sings his ass off, and Trower hits some great leads, although not as edgy as his blues-oriented material. The songs here will give you a good sampling.

Matthew Sweet - from "Altered Beast" (1993):

Reaching Out
Dinosaur Act
Devil With the Green Eyes
Falling

An indie favorite, it's hard for me to catch up on his music. I don't listen to much radio and he's not an an artist you'll hear often. I only own this one and "Girlfriend". When I picked this out to listen to a few weeks back, the next day I read that he is in concert next month locally. Maybe I'll start playing some Gentle Giant! He's always been high up on my songwriter list, with the likes of Aimee Mann. Pleasant stuff...

Existence - "Small People Short Story Little Crime" (1998):

This one was recommended by our very own Mr. Magoo. He thought this would be great to hear in its entirety. I have it ready, pending band approval. Of late I've been shying away from full plays anyway, and there have been a couple of instances where I've been asked not to play a full CD (newer releases). The music creates a connected theme and story, so it's meant to be heard as one piece. A big tip of the cap to Mr. Magoo for this - I was unaware of their "existence"! Some parts have some gritty rock and roll, augmented by a violinist who has more of a "fiddle" sound (as opposed to a treated sound). Great record.

Here's a full review with track listings:

http://www.progressiveworld.net/existence.html

Next week is Show 200 - I was entertaining the thought of getting some musicians together for some quick interviews and the like, but it's a task just to get a show on each week. So I'll just be playing some personal favorites, of all styles (mostly progressive of course).

The following week will be the latest Tempano (free download from their myspace), the latest from Gongzilla, Uli Jon Roth, and Mahogany Frog. That's in two weeks time.