Hey all, just wanted to drop a note here about my newly re-designed site, nergon.com.  I haven't had anything there but camp pictures for a very long time, but now it's all about my strip Stranger Things.  I'm very excited about how it's turning out. 

 

I've been wanting to set it up like this for a very long time, but the host I wanted to go thru bills annually and I just never seemed to have enough extra money to spring for it.  But a couple of weeks ago, I noticed a new banner ad on one of my favorite web sites, myextralife.com, advertising the host that Scott Johnson uses, Mind on the Net.  They have a very cool blogging package which includes a very good deal of storage and xfer bandwidth and they have several billing cycle options.  So, after singing up and learning how to setup PHPBB and WordPress, nergon.com is at last in a presentable state.

 

So please, hop on over, take a look at the comics that are posted so far, register for the forum and drop me a note!  And just as FYI, I'll be posting comics Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.  At least that's the initial plan, so I'd be honored if you checked back now and then to see what's going on in Stranger Things.  :)

 

 

It's been a while since I posted anything here....I've got a draft of a review of Roine Stolt's "Wall Street Voodoo" that's not done yet, so I'll be posting that soon.

 

In the meantime, I thought I'd share something I'm working on. 

 

I do a comic strip called Stranger Things for Full Tilt Features which is included in gogags and the Not Quite Sunday Funnies blog put together by Full Tilt hero, Annie Taylor Lebel.  Stranger Things is a fun project for me that I've been working on since 1991, but not very seriously until 2003.

 

Last fall when word hit the net about the video iPods and the podcasting community began to generate a buzz about VIDEO podcasting, I got excited.  The rusty gears in my noggin started to sputter and squeek and turn and I began to think - comic strip + Flash + QuickTime + iTunes = my comic strip on iTunes...  I could do a video podcast of my comic strip which would basically just be displaying each frame for a few seconds in sort of a slide show.  But people could subscribe in iTunes and not have to try to remember to go to a website and look for the newest comic, they would get it automatically.  Sweet!  So tax return time comes around and I manage to spring for a video iPod, put together some test runs of strips in QuickTime movie format and wala!  Everything came together nicely.  The strips look great on the iPod, you can read them easily, it's a win-win.

 

So now I have to get some material together and start putting these out on libsyn or some kind of podcasting service so that someday soon people can subscribe to my comic on iTunes.

 

So what comic is it going to be?  Is it going to be Stranger Things or is it going to be something else?  Well, I've got 2 new strips I've been working on in addition to Stranger Things over the past several months, working toward this video podcasting thing.  One of them I'm going to drop and maybe someday when I have free time coming out of my ears, I'll pick it up and run with it.  But for now it's my shelved pet project that I'll return to "someday".  The other one I'm calling "Corporate Hangover". 

 

My buddies at work have been bugging me for years to do a comic strip based on our confusing life in the tech industry.  My dissenting argument has always been Dilbert.  Scott Adams is already doing that and he's covering it nicely.  However recently, I've become aware that I can cover this tech industry world in my own style and it doesn't resemble Dilbert at all because my sense of humor is so different from Scott Adams'.  And so is my drawing style.  So just like an artists shouldn't refuse to do a comic strip because Peanuts has already been there/done that, I don't think this is a valid argument even for a comic theme as long as I can put my own unique spin on it.  So I've been exploring this and will continue to do so.  I've already gravitated toward it several times in Stranger Things anyway whenever I would do a strip about Alan at work.  And really Corporate Hangover is just Alan at work minus the alien Nergon stuff.  So it has Alan and a cast of at least 3 new characters.  In fact, a couple of weeks ago I did a Stranger Things strip with Alan at work and I used 2 of these new characters in it.

 

So without further ranting and raving, here is my first official Corporate Hangover strip.  I won't have any free time for about 2 weeks from now, so at that point I'll start figuring out what kind of schedule I can churn these out on and get them on iTunes in video podcast format.  I'll try linking in the flash part of the video podcast form and click the thumbnail below to read the strip.

 

Link to Fash video podcast version (gets to the iPod by publishing in Quicktime in Flash, then converting the .mov in iTunes to be iPod compatible.)

 

By the way everything in this strip actually happened.  Except I didn't wear a tie and I'm fatter than that.

 

Another person out there apparently loves Neal Morse's "?" album as much as I do.  The New England Art Rock Society news page recently posted this article, an alternative to the grammy awards.  It's nice to see Neal getting well deserved attention!

 

The author also had nice, warm and fuzzy comments for Izz's "My River Flows", Roine Stolt's "Wall Street Voodoo", Porcupine Tree's "Deadwing", Spock's Beard's "Octane", and several others that are unfamiliar to me.  The prog world is a big, big world.

 

I still need to write up some comments about Izz's album, and I just got "Wall Street Voodoo" this week from Amazon, so mucho musico reviewo to come-o.

 

It's a fun article, I recommend skimming it at least. 

 

BUT - that was 2005.

 

2006 is already shaping up quite well for proggers (Those guys who love prog rock so much, they risk their lives trying to cross the street, dodging cars, just to get to their favorite record store.  (Those of you born after 1982 may have just gotten lost.))  January 31st saw the release of "A Place in the Queue" by The Tangent as well as "Wait of Glory" by Proto-Kaw.  I had never heard of either of these bands before last week, but apparently they both have a pretty good fan base and both CDs are getting rave reviews on Amazon. 

 

Roine Stolt used to be involved in The Tangent as well as Kaipa and his main band, The Flower Kings.  Recently I read that he wanted to concentrate more on solo recording, so he left both Kaipa and The Tangent.  "A Place in the Queue" is the first album done by that band without the input or presence of the famous prog master, and from what I've read, it sounds like they've found their voice and their sound just fine without him.  Also, the cover is amazing; I love it!

 

Most fans of Kansas and Kerry Livgren in particular probably already know about Proto-Kaw.  This band is made up of the original Kansas members who recorded between 1971 and 1973, so it's one of those groups that had an immediate fanbase as soon as they formed.  Personally, Kansas (not to mention Kerry Livgren) is unexplored territory, so I'll have to see what MusicMatch On-Demand has in the way of their music.  It would probably upset a lot of Kansas fans to hear it, but when I think of Kansas, I think of John Elefante.  He's the only dood I know of related to them.  And since I loved Halo, Mastedon (No, not the current Mastodon), and Petra growing up, I think at least some of Kansas' material will make for some familiar listening.

 

So we've already had some significant prog hit the streets this year.  Coming up are David Gilmour's "On An Island" (March 6th), The Flower Kings' "Paradox Hotel" (March 24th), and O.S.I.'s 2nd album on March 31st.  I can't wait to hear the new O.S.I., for me that's the biggest release in 2006 so far.  The bad news is that Asia has announced that "Architect of Time", which was slated for a May 5th release, has been "shelved" which I assume means don't count on it coming out anywhere near May.

 

Well, enough for now.  I'll get started on those reviews soon!

It's recently come to my attention that 2 extremely popular Christian groups are unfortunately disbanding very soon. 

 

You know, it's one thing when bands like Petra or Mylon & Broken Heart break up.  I mean Petra was obviously past it's prime (although I still stand behind Jekyll & Hyde as an outstanding album) and Mylon LeFever was having health problems, forcing Broken Heart to end their rock and roll days.  But man, when Sixpence None the Richer broke up a couple of years ago, it was HARD on me...and still is.  I have been a fan since I first heard about them in college, and the last album Divine Discontent is just awesome.  I will always hope for a Sixpence reunion someday. 

 

When I saw the new 4 Him CD on the release list this week, I didn't really think much of it, I just figured it was another one of those "best of" albums that labels love to shove down our throats.  But after looking it up, it appears it is the last 4 Him CD, and it's not just a "best of", the songs have been re-done and I understand there is one new song (BUT STILL BEWARE, it's on SONY/BMG).  Wow.  That kind of hit me harder than I expected.  I actually gave up on following 4 Him a few years back, but they still have quite a few songs that speak to my heart, especially on the album, The Message, which I felt was full of encouraging lyrics for men specifically.  Obvious was a big disappointment to me, so that was where I stopped paying attention.  4 Him to me was always one of these groups that had only about 3 songs per CD that I liked and the rest were pretty boring.  But the ones that I liked, I REALLY liked and they hit home to me as a Christian.  "Where There Is Faith" is still a Christian radio staple and I still find it every bit as effective as Mercy Me's "I can Only Imagine" even though I've heard them both hundreds of times by now.  Plus, with their track for the outstanding CD, Streams, 4 Him did something that I consider to be one of the greatest things to happen to Christian music.  They got Jon Anderson of Yes to sing on "The Only Thing I Need", a gorgeous song.  So they have certainly left their mark and this is indeed very sad news.  Apparently they plan to release solo albums now, but I doubt very much that any of them individually will be nearly as effective as they had been once together.  You can get more information here.

 

And the other break-up that's become big in Christian music news...  This one hurts much much more than the 4 Him break-up.  Uugh..I hate to even type it.  But the sad truth of the matter is that Audio Adrenaline is calling it a career.  (Pause for mass weeping.)

 

Ouch, ouch, ouch.  I love Audio Adrenaline.  I'm still a loyal fan.  In fact the only Audio Adrenaline albums I don't have are the first one (because I wasn't a fan yet) and the live one.  I love seeing them in concert, they put on a really really good show.  But , alas...it is time for the curtain to close.  We will continue to sing "Big House", "Don't Censor Me", "Never Gunna Be As Big As Jesus", "Hands and Feet", "Get Down", and "Ocean Floor" with heart-felt conviction and remember Audio Adrenaline with nothing but fond memories.  And I will still listen to "Jesus and the California Kid" and "The Houseplant Song" with a big grin.  I heard that the singer is having to quit in order to prevent losing his voice permanently.  For the official info, take a gander here.

 

Be strong everybody.  And keep an eye out for those bands that pick up the torch.

 

 

I meant to post this Monday, but got busy...:D  This week is a big release week for new music.  And this makes me happy.  I wanted to give a heads-up prior to Tuesday about some new stuff coming out, but missed the boat, so this is your post-Tuesday new tunes notification.  :D

 

I made a little list of CDs that were planned to come out on the 24th that I was at least partially interested in:

 

P.O.D. - Testify

4 Him - Encore:  For Future Generations

Avalon - Stand

Crosby, Stills & Nash - Crosby, Stills & Nash

Crosby, Stills & Nash - Daylight Again

Steve Hackett - Please Don't Touch

Steve Hackett - Voyage of the Acolyote

Jennifer Knapp - Live

 

Now, as far as I"m concerned, P.O.D.'s Testify is the first big big CD of 2006.  Can't wait to hear it.  Picked up The Warriors EP, vol. 2 just prior to Christmas and I'm addicted to it.  Well, except for the live version of Boom, not a big fan of that track.  But the rest of it rocks and I love it.  I"m very excited to hear the rest of the new stuff they've come up with!  Still trying to decide between regular or Limited Edition...

 

As far as 4 Him's CD goes, BE FOREWARNED, it's a Sony/BMG release.  That means it MIGHT have the SONY DRM wreaker of havoc on it.  So, a good alternative might be to get it from iTunes if it's available there and you feel the need to own yet another 4 Him compilation.  Rolling Stone had a snippet an issue or two back about this DRM software still being included on new music, so it's not over.  I forget what all they listed as having a newer version of the software than say the Neil Diamond 12 Songs that was pulled because of the original software, so keep your peepers open.

 

The Crosby, Still & Nash stuff as well as the Steve Hackett stuff I imagine must be some kind of remastered re-releases, and I haven't investigated them, so I don't know if there are extra goodies included or what.  But if you're into those guys, just a heads-up that those have been set free to the listening public.

 

I've often wondered what happened to Jennifer Knapp as it's been a good deal of time since her 3rd studio album.  I guess she has been all wrapped up in those City on a Hill discs, but still I'd love to see her do another all by herself.  She's kind of an anomoly on Gotee Records, too, it seems like she'd fit the Essential Records family much better with Jars of CLay and Third Day rather than Grits and Relient K, but whatever.  Toby Mac obviously made a good move by signing her.  Guess we'll have to settle for a live album for now...

 The Girl Who Couldn't Fly

Time Well Wasted

 

The World - 4:02

Alcohol - 4:52

Waitin' On A Woman - 4:33

I'll Take You Back - 4:24

She's Everything - 4:27

You Need A Man Around Here - 3:33

Out In The Parkin' Lot - 4:44

Rainin' You - 4:16

Flowers - 3:50

Love Is Never-Ending - 3:59

The Uncloudy Day - 0:53

When I Get Where I'm Going - 4:08

Easy Money - 4:15

Time Warp - 3:56

Time Well Waisted - 3:56

Cornography - 3:56

Out Take 1 - 0:16

Out Take 2 - 0:13

Out Take 3 - 0:36

Out Take 4 - 0:35

Shatner Says Goodbye - 0:27

 

Bonus Disc

Yes, You Will - 4:09

Hard To Say Hello - 4:11

Ode De Toilet (The Toilet Song) - 4:44

College (w/Pat Green) - 3:41

 

I caught Brad Paisley on CMT one night last summer while flipping channels.  Occassionally while channel-surfing, I'll rest on CMT for awhile, despite not being much of a country music fan, since they are the only one of the "music" channels that lo and behold actually still plays music-related programming.  It really is amazing.  When I stopped there on this particular evening, it was John Mayer who caught my attention.  I don't have any John Mayer CDs and I'm not a fan of him really, but I gotta admit, the dood can play.  The show that was on at the time showcased John Mayer and Brad Paisley playing together in a band.  Brad was not in cowboy duds, so I didn't realize he was an established country musician, having never heard of him before seeing this program.  But man, oh man, did those two guys play some blues together.  I was astounded at both of them, but more so with Brad since he was a new guy to me.  So, when he came out with Time Well Wasted not long after this, I snagged a copy up from Target.

 

As I said before, I'm not really a country music fan.  But I can appreciate it as an American art form.  Typically, I only really care for a song or two on a country album, so listing one as one of my favorites in 2005 is pretty significant for me.  :D 

 

There are 2 things that set Brad Paisley apart from a lot of other country artists as far as I'm concerned.  First, he's a true musician.  On the store shelves he's a country artist, but he's extremely capable of playing other styles, as I saw that night on TV when he played some smoking blues.  Also, if you've seen the commercial with him and Kermit the Frog duelling banjo and guitar, then you know what I'm talking about.  I think you could safely say he's a master of guitar.  The other thing that makes him stand out to me is the humor in many of his songs.  If you sit down and listen to Time Well Wasted, he'll have you chuckling during several songs.  But he's no Weird Al, churning out hammy comedy tunes.  When he does a funny song, it's pretty much got an actual point to it and when he's not doing a funny song, he can also touch your heart.

 

The downer to this album is that it is not family-friendly.  And it's a real shame.  "Cornography" as well as the out take tracks feature some low-brow plays on words, which to me just comes off as a bunch of dirty old men recording stuff junior-highers would laugh at.  So that is to say, be forewarned that while most of the album is outstanding, it's not safe to just let it run through in the car with your kids there.  In fact, it may be a good idea to make a copy that excludes those tracks.

 

The first song, "The World", is a love song, proclaiming to that special someone that while the rest of the world may see her as just another person, the singer finds her to be "the world" to him.  It's a pretty cool play on words, a nice positive message, and a good, peppy song.  I wouldn't rate it as one of the best songs here, but it definitley sets the proper mood from the get-go.

 

"Alcohol" was apparently the big single on the radio promoting the album just before it was released.  This is one of those tracks that showcases Brad's humor.  Seemingly sung from the point of view of a person boasting of several odd accomplishments and abilities, it becomes clear in the chorus that it's actually alcohol who is bragging about making people do miscellaneous crazy things.  This song works well since drinkers can relate to much of the antics included, I imagine, and non-drinkers can relate to them as being reasons to stay sober.  Regardless, it's funny while at the same time a good, solid tune musically.

 

"Waitin' On A Woman" is one of my favorites, also well-coated with humor.  It pokes fun at the time women take to get ready to go out for a date, while at the same time pointing out that the wait is well worth the reward.  It creates a mental image of a couple of guys on a bench waiting on their wives, totally content to do so.  I think most guys can completely relate.

 

And the chuckles continue with "I'll Take You Back", a post-breakup song that details all the events that would have to take place before this guy would take his girl back.  And many would have to double as signs of the apocalypse.  It seems a tad mean, but jives with the post-breakup frame of mind.  Also, the guitar here is just excellent, as is a small bit of piano just before the end.

 

"She's Everything" is another favorite of mine, which is kind of funny because another one of my favorite songs from last year was "She Is Everything" by Spock's Beard.  This one is slightly different than the prog rock song, though.  Slow guitar and mandolins back up this perfectly-played love song that, again, guys can universally relate to.  It's a nice contrast to typical radio love songs that fail to emphasize longevity in relationships or any kind of real love ("she's the voice I love to hear and someday when I'm 90 she's that wooden rocking chair I want rocking right beside me" and "She's the one that I'd lay down my own life for").

 

After one serious song, the humor kicks in again with "You Need A Man Around Here", a song that seems to tell the story of a man who visits a woman's place for the first time, thoroughly critiquing it.  Finding no evidence of male influence in the house, Brad glorifies the inherent talents of men, such as killing spiders and drinking beer.

 

"Out in the Parking Lot" is my least-favorite song on this CD.  It features Alan Jackson, who I have nothing against, but the subject of events in a bar parking lot is very uninteresting to me and the music isn't good enough to carry it in spite of the lyrics.  This one gets a skip every time.

 

"Raining You" is another slow love song, which I must have a thing for cuz it's another one of my favorites.  More mandolin and slow guitar appear here and I must say that I think I like Brad's vocals the best on this song.  The instruments do an amazing job of creating a mood, making it a very emotionally affecting track.

 

"Flowers" brings the chuckles back, serving as an expose on the atrocious evils endured by flowers the world over, just because this woman won't take the singer back.  The lyrics are very clever.

 

"Love is Never-Ending" is an excellent, excellent song.  The instrumentation sounds simple, but the melody is infectious and the lyrics are meaningful.  Definitely one of the songs that make the CD well worth the price.

 

"The Uncloudy Day" is not a track to stand alone, but serves as an introduction to the next song.  The instruments are quiet with some record pops and hiss sounds overlayed.  This is an excerpt of a country-flavored hymn and sets the stage for a spiritually-centered "When I Get Where I'm Going".  Dolly Parton helps out here, which kind of scared me when I read it on the back of the disc before buying it.  I don't care for her music, being a contributor to older, more traditional country.  But my oh my, she does a great job here backing Brad up on a song that is another favorite of mine for the year 2005.  The lyrics are very moving, talking about the things that one looks forward to being able to do when reaching Heaven.  Such things as catching up with grandparents, coming face to face with God, and leaving worldly stresses behind.  As a Believer, it's difficult not to fall in love with this song.

 

"Easy Money" is a forgettable track, in fact the title didn't even sound familiar to me when I typed up the song list at the beginning of this entry.  Similar in concept to "Money For Nothing", the glories of the music business are praised here as a fun, easy lifestyle.  Ya thanks a lot.  I just spent a good amount of the money I earned at my mundane job, which I hate, buying this CD.  Thanks for rubbing it in.  ;)

 

"Timewarp" is an amazing instumental piece proving the mettle of Brad and his band.  Several styles are explored from country to jazz to blues.  If you weren't impressed by now with the musicians, well...it's a requirement at this point.

 

"Time Well Wasted", the title track for the album, actually impressed me by fully explaining the title which seemed to be an oxymoron, but becomes something relatable as Brad sings about fishing with family and such things which aren't productive in any way other than for bonding and creating precious memories.  This is another great song with a positive message about taking time to "smell the roses" in life.

 

I've already said all I have to say about "Cornography" and the handful of out take tracks that follow it.  Don't care for it.  Moving on.

 

The final track on the main disc is hilarious.  It is the voice of William Shatner providing a fitting close to Time Well Wasted, telling the listener that the album is over and they might want to just start it up again.

 

Since I bought this CD at Target, I also got their "exclusive version" that included a bonus disc with a handful of songs on it.  I would recommend looking this version up as the songs are every bit as good as the regular CD.  "Yes, You Will" and "Ode De Toilet (The Toilet Song)" are especially funny.

 

If I were to make a list of my favorite songs of the year, at least two from this album would make that list, "When I Get Where I'm Going" and "Love Is Never-Ending".  Often when I'm at home in the mood to listen to music, but not sure what to listen to, I'll start this CD up.  I thik those facts add up to a pretty good testamony to this CD, Brad as an artist, and his band.  I'm not sure country gets a lot better than this.  Check it out ;)

 

Octavarium

 

1.  The Root Of All Evil - 8:26

2.  The Answer Lies Within - 5:33

3.  These Walls - 7:36

4.  I Walk Beside You - 4:29

5.  Panic Attack - 8:13

6.  Never Enough - 6:47

7.  Sacrificed Sons - 10:43

8.  Octavarium - 24:00

 

Dream Theater is kind of a weird band to me.  As with Spock's Beard I only found out about them in 2004 when they were mentioned in a Yes fan newsletter as a possible modern version of Yes (which is just silly).  They have been around since the late 80's and have quite a big fan base, so most of their fans would find my point of view on them to be naive, I'm sure.  A couple of years ago I also went through some of the toughest times I've had to face so far in my adulthood and as a side-effect to this process, I went thru an angry period when I started to turn away from CCM music such as Chris Rice/MWS and began listening to much heavier stuff such as Killswitch Engage.  Music is very much a part of who I am, so any life changes I go thru seem to be reflected in what I listen to.  So I'm sure that this change helped me to appreciate Dream Theater all the more when I finally got around to researching them.

 

But Dream Theater is a musical anomoly.  I can remember well the hay-day of bands like Cinderella, Warrant, Firehouse, Skid Row, Poison, and many more of the same ilk.  And I can remember well the dawning of the age of grunge.  Now both of these musical movements have come to an end, and looking back, most rock and roll fans, even if they hated grunge can at least appreciate the death of the image of rock as it existed before grunge killed it mercilessly.  I've heard it described in many ways - "glam rock", "hair metal", and yes, even "80s butt rock".  Anyone who was socially conscious from '87-'93 knows exactly what I'm talking about.  The bands went around with long, permed hair, wore make-up, looked generally very effeminate, and sang...err screamed as high and shrill as possible.  Grunge, hate it or love it, permanently erased this image from the landscape of rock and roll.  When grunge finally left us, it took awhile, but good 'ol, non-grunge, but just general rock returned from the ashes with bans such as Nickelback, Default, 3 Doors Down, and so on.  No longer were these rockers strutting around in tight leather clothes that were tied on with laces, showing chest hair, sporting mascara, and singing as if they'd been kicked in an intimate region.  Now rockers looked like normal guys and they sang with deeper, lower voices.  And in some ways, it was good.

 

So why is Dream Theater a musical anomoly?  Because they're a hugely successful band, but their vocalist is a throwback from those late 80's Warrant and Poison days.  In all practicality, they should be a joke.  But they aren't.  Some might argue that James LaBrie is, but Dream Theater most definitely is not.

 

Dream Theater is made up of Mike Portnoy as drummer, Jordan Rudess as keyboardist, John Petrucci on guitars, John Myung on bass, and James LaBrie as vocalist.  I don't know a whole lot about the history of the band yet, but I do know that Jordan Rudess, an amazing musician, was not a founding member.  Kevin Moore, now of Chroma Key and O.S.I. was the band's original keysman.  Both Jordan Rudess and Mike Portnoy appear in the new Neal Morse release, ?.  James LaBrie also actively pursues a solo career, and I know nothing about Petrucci or Myung.

 

Octavarium is the band's 8th studio album and they have some fun with the number 8 on it.  The album has 8 tracks, the title contains the nemerical prefix meaning 8, the title track is 24 minutes even in length (8x3), and in the CD booklet, each song is headlined by the track number appearing as if it were the time signature for that track.  For example, track one displays 1/8 in musical notation, track 2 shows 2/8 and so on.  When I first saw this, out of my stupidity I didn't notice the pattern and thought they were showing the time signature for each song.  Then it dawned on me...  Not the "quickest riff" in the "album."

 

"The Root Of All Evil" kicks the disc off in fine, ultra-heavy Dream Theater fashion.  This is exactly what fans would expect the band to sound like, I expect, so they start off giving their audience just what they want.  This is the third part of Mike Portnoy's suite of songs that go along with the steps of recovery in AA.  The first part, "The Glass Prison" appeared on 6 Degrees of Inner Turbulence, and the second part appeared as "This Dying Soul" on Train of Thought.  This is a real rocker and repeats slightly altered lyrics and musical themes from "This Dying Soul" such as "I can feel my body breaking...".  It's a very cool effect to have it tied together with the previous album, seemingly continuing a line of thought and a great way to start the new CD.

 

The tempo slows down for the second track, "The Answer Lies Within", which is the token ballad.  This song is not very memorable in my opinion.  There's nothing very creative or impressive about it, it just sounds like a typical keyboard ballad for a hard rock band.  It's not outstanding and it's not horrible.  Nuff said, moving on.

 

"These Walls" returns things to normal with some raunchy guitar just before the song kicks into full gear.  It's a very guitar-heavy track with prominent keyboards.  I like this song quite a bit as James LaBrie contains his voice in a lower register than is typical for him, so he comes off sounding more or less like a good rock vocalist.  But every now and then on the last syllable of a lyric, he feels the need to drag the note on and give it some cheezy, 80's vibrato action.  Luckily it's not often enough to ruin the song.  Even as a decent rock song, "These Walls" has a bit of a chill factor.  The guitar solo in the middle, for example has kind of a Neal Schon vibe to it, very mild and shimmering.  The end of the song has some violin sounds brought in to make the heavy guitar a bit more dramatic for the ending.

 

Some clock sounds fade in and out as "These Walls" comes to a close and "I Walk Beside You" is ushered in.  This is one of the better tracks on the CD in my opinion.  A solid rocker with a positive message of encouragement for a friend or loved one who thinks they are alone while going through tough times.  The guitar is definitely the leader in this song and it is extremely well-played.

 

"Panic Attack" starts out with some impressive bass and then suddenly assaults the eardrums with an extremely fast, heavy-guitar onslaught.  This is the track where John Petrucci gets to prove his magical abilities for sure.  In reading many reviews of Octavarium, "Panic Attack" always gets a mention for the most manic hard-rock moment on the CD, and belive me, it's well-deserved.  The down side, however, is that here LaBrie goes into full-on glamour-rock band frontman mode about halfway through and again right at the last vocal part of the song.  It's done in such a cheesy way that it's almost laughable, as if he's trying to do a Freddie Mercury impression that just doesn't work.  If it weren't for that moment, it would be a solid song.

 

Next comes "Never Enough", another excellent guitar-driven, fast-paced track.  It starts out with some freaky-fast keyboard just moments before the guitar and drums come in full swing.  Here LaBrie continues to do some embarrassing vocal moves that someone like Ben Stiller might try to do if he were imitating 80s hair bands.  Thankfully this is pretty much limited to the first verse and the rest of the song is excellent.  If they could just find a respectable vocalist...  The musicianship in this song is astounding as the keyboards and guitar get some interplay, yielding the sound stage to each other now and again and spurring each other on to more and more impressive pieces.

 

Then comes the eeriest moment on the album, "Sacrificed Sons", introduced by something that sounds like chanting or prayers in some Middle-Eastern language.  TV news soundbites chime in over the chanting as if you are observing a channel-surfer and you realize very quickly that this is going to be a song about 9/11.  The comments made in the news excerpts are chilling and I find myself getting shivers up my spine before the the vocals even start.  Questioning how anyone could carry out such a horrific attack ("Who would wish this on a people?"), Dream Theater manage a very moving song, conjuring up mental images that we all share who witnessed the towers falling on national television.  Let alone those who lived through it in New York City that morning.  What a tragedy and the band seems to think it important that we remember it as such.

 

The title track comes in next as if it were the perfect grand finale that you didn't even know you were waiting for.  A 24-minute behemoth, this is one of my favorite songs of the year 2005.  Slow and dramatic at times, and loudly frantic at others, this song is an absolute masterpiece of modern prog.  I wish I could attach an mp3 here for the uninitiated to appreciate because it really is that good.  This song alone makes up for any pitfalls that came earlier and rounds out the album very nicely.

 

The thing to remember here is that Dream Theater is not a progressive rock band.  They are considered pioneers of the "progressive metal" genre.  This is something that I don't completely understand or agree with since I believe that Queensryche was doing that already before Dream Theater came along, but whatever.  ;)  Anyway, this is just to say that you shouldn't approach Dream Theater expecting a new Pink Floyd or Yes or Genesis.  They carry all the power-chord glory of Metallica or Iron Maiden, except that these guys know a lot more than 3 chords.  Where metal, much like punk, is typically regarded as the territory of the musical underachiever, this is definitely not so with Dream Theater.  All of the players here are masters of their instrument.  And as much as I'd like for James LaBrie to just go away and maybe help Van Halen try to revive what's left of their career, his vocals aren't nearly bad enough to put a dent in the amazing art the rest of the band manage to make together.

 

Since buying Octavarium, I have picked up a couple of Dream Theater's earlier CDs, Train of Thought, and Scenes From a Memory.  I've also listened to others through MusicMatch's on-demand service.  After hearing this previous material, I'm even more impressed with Octavarium.  This album represents somewhat of a shift in the band's sound.  Whereas with Scenes From a Memory all the way through Train of Thought, they perfected a very straight-forward heavy-metal, dark, guitar-driven sound, Octavarium strays from that fairly significantly and shows off a much brighter sound where the keyboards are given a more prominent role.  It gives them the appearance of a more creative band, making the progressive side of their metal much more visible and I strongly hope that they continue this move into their ninth studio album, whenever it may come. 

 

Also, I don't think Octavarium contains any explicit lyrics as I was surprised to discover that such lyrics are very prominently represented on Train of Thought.  Just a word of caution...

 

In short, I am very impressed with Octavarium and would probably place it in the top 5 of my favorite purchases for year 2005 CDs.  Once I cover all the CDs I want to for 2005, I'll have to put toghether a top 10 list to show how I think they all fall as far as best of the year goes.  Anyway, I highly recommend it, check it out if you can.

 

 

"?"

 

i.  The Temple of the Living God - 6:13

ii.  Another World - 2:36

iii.  The Outsider - 2:21

iv.  Sweet Elation - 2:32

v.  In The Fire - 7:24

vi.  Solid As The Sun - 6:12

vii.  The Glory Of The Lord - 1:41

viii.  Outside Looking In - 4:19

ix.  12 - 6:46

x.  Entrance - 6:22

xi.  Inside His Presence - 5:30

xii.  The Temple of the Living God - 4:27

 

Now that we've covered the Spock's Beard 2005 offering Octane and discussed the history of that band and Neal Morse's large part in it, we can cover the great masterpiece that Neal himself has seen fit to give to the world recently, ?, or "the Question Mark Album" as it is also referred to online.

 

This is my tip-top, very much most favorite album of 2005.  At least out of the one's I've heard and bought. :)  I can't get tired of it, and after it's over I just want to start it up again.  When the news broke out that it was coming I was ecstatic and couldn't wait to hear it.  And I was not disappointed in the slightest.

 

You see, as I stated in my retrospective listing, I only just recently found out about bands like Spock's Beard who are boldly carrying the torch of prog rock in the here and now.  In 2004 I read about Dream Theater in a Yes newsletter and I came across the name Spock's Beard on an InsideOut Records brochure/advertisement.  I couldn't find anything on MusicMatch from Spock's Beard, but I found quite a bit from Dream Theater and used the internet to discover all I could about both bands, then branching off to similar artists and side-projects, etc., etc.  And in 2005 I was able to pick up a few of these bands' releases and explore contemporary prog for myself.  Neal Morse is just one example.

 

Reading reviews of some Spock's Beard albums, I came across a review by a fan who stated he wished Neal Morse had "never found Jesus" and left the group to do his own thing.  So, naturally I googled for info on Neal Morse and found http://www.nealmorse.com, where at the time, the album One was being advertised.  There was a quote from Phil Keaggy saying something to the effect that One was a musical masterpiece, and being that I used to be obsessed with Phil Keaggy's music, that REALLY piqued my interest.  I mean not only is this guy a well-respected prog artist, but he became a Christian, is now actively making Christian music, AND he's getting an endorsement from Phil Keaggy (who by the way had caught the interest of Jimi Hendrix by the time he was 18 years old).  I downloaded all of the full-song downloads available from Neal's site and instantly fell in love with the song "Cradle to the Grave" which is a duet with Phil Keaggy where Neal sings the point of view of a "lost" man giving up on God and Phil sings the part of God expressing love for the man, but also a willingness to let him be lost if that's what he's bent on.  So it's a very heart-wrenching song.  This was enough research for me and I ordered the special edition version of One which solidified my Neal Morse fanhood.

 

One was Neal's 2004 CD.  The Special Edition is dated 2005 and comes with a bonus disc full of extra material.  And ? was released on November 1 of 2005.  All of this recording along with the European touring he did last year means Neal has been a very busy guy. 

 

OK, enough background, what about the music on ??  This CD is very unique.  I'm sure if CDs were around in the 70's, Yes would have done this a long time ago, but they were limited to record albums, so the best they could do was a 4-song double-record album as their prog-epic, crowning achievement (Tales From Topographic Oceans - each song was one side of an LP) and Neal gets to beat them to the punch of... turning an entire CD into one song.  That's right, ? is actually one 56-minute-long song which is broken into 12 tracks.  None of these tracks can stand alone very well at all as each part flows into the next, none having both a definite beginning and ending of their own.  This isn't to say that when they recorded it, they had to do several runs of the entire song and then pick the best one for the album (never mind that no one records that way anymore anyway).  There are some transitions that sound very much like there are 2 separate songs that were recorded and overlapped for the transition on the CD.  And then there are many where the musicians don't stop playing or fade out, they just keep right on going into the next song (or maybe "movement" would be a better term).  As a side-effect, there really are no favorite songs on this CD that you can just throw on the iPod since they would appear to be missing a beginning and/or an end.  This makes ? sort of like Pink Floyd's the Wall in the sense that if you want to listen to it, you kind of have to resign yourself to listening to the full work as it's the only way it will make any sense.  Does that mean that even if it's a favorite CD you won't listen to it as often as others?  Ya, probably.  But that also helps to preserve it's status as a favorite, where listening to a favorite 3-minute song several times will eventually change your opinion of it.

 

? Starts out with "The Temple of the Living God", a very mysterious-sounding track with backmasked whispering and winds fading in at the beginning and then breaking out in full musical swing into the chorus that appears again and again later - "And then after all, with our backs against the wall, we seek the temple of the Living God."  Neal has a real talent for finding just the right melody for a chorus lyric that will plant itself in your brain and have you whistling it subconsciously when you least expect it.  This chorus is no exception.  When I hear it, I just want to belt it out with him.  For all the time it takes for this first track to get going, you may at first hearing think it's going to be a dramatic and slow piece, but by the time you get to the second track, you've heard prog rock in all it's flaunting and rocking beauty.  Neal reminds me of why I love the genre so much, taking a heart-felt lyric from a slow pace to a grand multi-instrument frenzy.  And for my buck, it doesn't hurt to hear phrases like "flat-nosed superfluous" and "scurvy scab" either.  ;)

 

If I can offer any criticism of this CD, it's that after the opening track, the pace moves along a bit too quickly from "Another World" pretty much until you get to "In The Fire".  "Another World", "The Outsider", and "Sweet Elation" cruise by and are gone before you really realize it, but each offer their own very sweet pieces of music with themes that I feel could have been explored a bit more.  But apparently Neal has places to go and other points to make because he doesn't take any time to emphasize the thoughts here...yet.

 

"Another World' mentions specific items in the Hebrew temple (and/or the Tabernacle) described in the Old Testament and expresses how the symbolism of these things seems to figuratively transport the temple visitor to the presence of God in Heaven.  At least I think that's what he's getting at.  The music is fairly fast-paced and I would have loved this one to have been drawn out to about 7 minutes or so, but I get to settle for 2 and a half instead.

 

"Another World" takes a sudden turn to a much slower tempo and yields the stage to "The Outsider", another 2-minute piece.  This is a short lyric from the point of view of someone who cannot go into the temple but can only look in.  "I am no one.  I hide outside.  I must stay in the darkness cuz the son, it burns my eyes..."

 

"The Outsider" also undergoes a tempo change at the end in order to bring in "Sweet Elation" with a powerful and emotionally-charged musical punch that gets us rocking yet again.  "Sweet Elation" begins very guitar-driven, but later features some outstanding keyboard work.  This is another track that I would have really loved to hear a lot more of, but I guess that only makes these 2 and a half minutes that much more precious.

 

"Sweet Elation" crescendo's into "In The Fire" which is a slower, deliberate groove.  An almost menacing sound with wah-ed electric guitar introduces the track.  The dark tone of the song is fitting as the subject of sacrifices performed at the Temple/Tabernacle is discussed here, and the need to have sin dealt with rather than trying to hide it.  Finally here we have a track of good length, giving the musicians a chance to explore the musical setting.  Electric guitar is heavily used here as ultra-slick solos are spewed back and forth almost in a dueling fashion.  Then the tempo takes a bit of a lull and a Peter Frampton-ish wah solo lightens the mood just in time for a heavy-metal guitar to come crashing down on it.  Anyway, the musical interplay continues for several minutes, weaving perfectly with the vocals.  All of the instruments are played very tightly with each other.  At first listen, this was my favorite part of the CD.

 

"Solid As The Sun" continues the rock groove that was begun in "In The Fire", but features some very exceptional bass playing and a surprising but fitting saxophone piece.  About 4 minutes into the track, the saxophone is used with an electronic drum to form a peppy jazz bit that just sounds awesome and then transitions into a heavy rock segment.  "Solid As The Sun" then brings back a sped-up version of a repeated phrasing from "In The Fire", ending on a familiar "BURN IT DOWN!" lyrical shout.

 

The musical pace is altered in a noticeably sudden way for the next track - "The Glory Of The Lord".  This sub-2 minute piece seems to serve as a segue into the second half of the album.  A large-sounding choir sings about the "Glory Of The Lord" filling the temple.  It's a very dramatic section, though it only lasts for a few short verses, accompanied by violins, piano, drums and cymbals.

 

"Outside Looking In" transitions in a much simpler sound than we've been presented with before on the CD.  Suddenly we have Neal with just an acoustic guitar.  The sparse-ness instrument-wise makes an impact, bringing the lyrics home a bit more than a full band sound would have done here.  Maybe this is done to purposefully contrast the grand instrumentation of the previous song glorifying God's presence with the humble yearning of a man in "Outside Looking In" who is unworthy of God's presence and knows it.  "Sometimes I sit and wonder why I was born when everything that I touch seems to turn out wrong...."  This part of ? actually recalls to mind some of the themes from One which spent a lot of time dealing with man's fall in the garden, state of sinfulness, and then redemption by God.

 

Then comes "12".  This track is downright amazing.  In my opinion, the instrumental section of this piece is the musical climax of the entire CD.  Jazz piano, solid bass, masterful guitar, perfect percussion.  There's even a short section at the end that sounds very Arabic, but it doesn't clash with the rest of the piece at all.  This band creates such an immense sound, it's just plain ear-candy.  The lyrics point out the significance of the number 12, not only in the Bible, but also in mundane things such as hours in a day and asks "Do you think it's an accident?"

 

After the intricate mosaic of "12", things slow down again for the induction of "Entrance".  This part begins with a description of Jesus just as John describes him at the beginning of Revelation.  Jesus says "I have made a way for the unclean ones to come into the gate.  To the weakest ones I will give my strength.  And the lowest ones, they will be brought high.  Let the unclean ones be washed in the fire."  Then the lyrics form a narrative of a man being led by Jesus to be purified and brought into God's presence.  It's a powerful song both lyrically and musically.  As Jesus says "washed in the fire", a heavy guitar riff sounds, reminiscent of "In The Fire" and then later on, a repeat of the themes in "Sweet Elation" is performed, bringing home concepts introduced early on in the album.  This completes the symbolism surrounding Jesus' sacrificial act allowing us as Christians to actually become the Temple of the Living God. 

 

Musical themes that were introduced earlier on are brought back here in a whirlwind of instrumentation that eventually quiets down to a solo piano for the first part of "In His Presence" (surprisingly, even a musical theme prominent on One makes an appearance here), a very moving track about the freedom of being accepted into "His Presence".  "From this smoke and ash comes true life at last.  Among earth and sod, the very life of God is here."  Images of God's throne and Heaven itself are conjured up by the lyrics as Neal makes his final point , 'He will come and live if you only give him a  place inside that the world can't buy.." and "now the temple of the Living God is you."  Having already experienced the musical climax, "Inside His Presence" would most definitely have to be the lyrical climax.  Neal lays it all out on the table for us to see his logical conclusions drawn, taken from scripture and applied to his musical mural he's painted right before our very ears for the past 50 minutes.  He has a way with words that can leave me in tears, it's so powerful. 

 

"Inside His Presence" gracefully leads into the final act of ?, "The Temple of the Living God".  Where the first track which also used this title led with whispers, introduced the chorus lyric, and then started of the rock tempo that continued on into the following parts, this ending piece continues what the previous song started musically, brings back the chorus lyric in a big way, and then fades out with the whispering and the winds, a fitting conclusion to a glorious 56-minute musical roller coaster ride worth every penny paid.

 

A couple of months ago when ? was announced, I listed the details of the band, but I'll do it again here for the purpose of this review.  Neal put together a VERY impressive group of players for this CD.  Mike Portnoy appears as drummer, which is becoming the norm for Neal's solo projects.  Mr. Portnoy is famous as a founding member of Dream Theater, a secular progressive metal band, but he has appeared in other side-projects, such as Transatlantic with Neal (and Roine Stolt who I haven't covered yet), O.S.I. (Office of Strategic Influence), and Liquid Tension Experiment (with legendary stickman Tony Levin).  Mike manages to make many appearances in the prog world.  Also from Dream Theater, Jordan Rudess makes an appearance on keyboards.  Randy George plays bass, Mark Leniger plays sax and I don't know a thing about either of them.  Alan Morse from Spock's Beard makes an appearance for his bro on guitar as do Roine Stolt (of The Flower Kings (don't laugh, they're quite famous)) and Steve Hackett from Genesis (he left not long after Peter Gabriel did).

 

I haven't gone into a lot of detail on the lyrical content of ? because there is a lot to it and I haven't had a chance to sit down and look thru the booklet yet.  I noticed this post on Neal's forum where he asks his fans if they have looked up his scripture references for each song yet.  I got a kick out of it, so I plan to do that myself.  I may post again when I've done it.

 

Neal's music is so inspirational to me that I've already tried acting as a Neal Morse evangelist to my music-loving friends.  I can't say enough about him.  It's so cool to have a prog veteran as an active and prolific member of the Christian music community, it feels like God gave me a present personally in Neal's music.  I highly recommend ? as my hands-down, no-contest favorite CD of 2005!!  Check it out!  ;)

 

 

 

Disc 1:

"A Flash Before My Eyes" (Tracks 1-7)

1.  The Ballet of the Impact - 5:34

     I.  Prelude to the Past

     II.  The Ultimate Quiet

     III.  A Blizzard of My Memories

2.  I Wouldn't Let It Go - 4:53

3.  Surfing Down the Avalanche - 3:43

4.  She is Everything - 6:46

     I.  Strange What You Remember

     II.  Words of Forever

5.  Climbing Up That Hill - 3:31

6.  Letting Go - 1:52

7.  Of The Beauty Of It All - 4:53

     I.  If I Could Paint A Picture

     II.  Into the Unknowable

 

8.  NWC - 4:16

9.  There Was A Time - 4:58

10.  The Planet's Hum - 4:42

11.  Watching the Tide - 5:07

12.  As Long As We Ride - 5:35

 

 Disc 2:

1.  When She's Gone - 5:41

2.  Follow Me To Sleep - 5:39

3.  Game Face - 4:10

4.  Broken Promise Land - 4:45

5.  Listening To The Sky - 3:08

6.  Someday I'll Be Found - 1:04

7.  I Was Never Lost - 1:09

8.  Paint Me A Picture - 1:29

9.  Video - The Formulation of Octane

 

Octane is easily one of my favorite CDs of 2005.  The eighth studio album by the progressive rock band begun in 1992 by brothers Neal and Alan Morse.  1992 was very much part of the age of grunge, so no one would really expect it to produce the debut of an extremely talented prog band.  That being the case, the Beard had to finance their first album, "The Light", themselves, and thank Heaven they were able to, because since then they have earned a loyal and growing following.  (As a side note, "The Light" is a very impressive work musically, but should come with an explicit lyrics warning, something that luckily does not plague Octane.)

 

A brief history is in order, I think.  Brothers Neal and Alan Morse along with the rest of the Beard continued to release albums at a steady pace throughout the 1990's.  Their reputation in the prog community blossomed very quickly.  Then, as far as I can figure, sometime around 2000, Neal Morse came to accept Christ as his Savior.  Obviously, this change in his life had an effect on his songwriting.  Neal had been all along the primary songwriting force in Spock's Beard.  2002's album Snow was heavily influenced by Neal's new world view.  A concept album about a character who in many ways symbolizes Jesus Christ, Snow by reputation is chalk full of overtly Christian themes and concepts.  I say "by reputation" as I have yet to add this one to my collection :).  Apparently the rest of the band was not pleased with this change in lyrical content.  And so due to tensions between Neal and the rest of the group, and Neal having aspirations to express his newfound Faith musically, he left the band and began a solo career.  Spock's Beard has survived without their previous prolific leader, placing their drummer Nick D'Virgilio in the new additional role of lead vocalist and releasing Feel Euphoria in 2003.  This led to comparisons in the prog community to the history of the band Genesis and the events leading up to the departure of Peter Gabriel, their prolific and charismatic frontman who also exited following a double-length concept album, and who was also replaced as vocalist by the band's drummer.  And that's the history of the Beard so far.

 

2003's Feel Euphoria was met pretty much unanimously by Spock's Beard fans with disappointment.  Neal Morse is widely considered a musical genius, and while many Beard fans consider his vocals to occasionally fall short, his presence and influence on Feel Euphoria was greatly missed.  I have read the album described as a poor prog album, but a great rock album. 

 

Thankfully Octane restored the faith of SB fans.  Nick D'Virgilio's vocals are in many ways superior to those of Neal.  Also with the main songwriter gone, the other band members have been given more opportunity to put their own styles forward, creating a different overall sound for the band.  To me it seems that they don't feel they have to attempt a prog landmark with every song, and they seem more content to explore a more accessible, pop-influenced sound.

 

The first "song" is a 7-track suite called "A Flash Before My Eyes".  The plot contained within is that of a man who finds himself in a serious car accident.  He goes through the usual "my whole life flashed before my eyes" moment in his final seconds before presumably dying as the last part is called "Into The Great Unknowable".  I'm pretty quick like that, picking up on those subtle hints.  I also have to wonder if this title is a little jab at Neal's faith since they call the afterlife "unknowable", perhaps pointing out that his certainty in the Christian view of it cannot be considered factual, in thier opinion.  And maybe I'm reading too much into it.  This suite contains some of the best songs on the album, such as the hardest rocker present, "Surfing Down the Avalanche", and a touching ballad (and my favorite), "She is Everything".  The other highlights for me are "There Was A Time" (a relatable song about a past love interest), "The Planet's Hum", and "As Long As We Ride" (both good rockers). 

 

When I finally got around to picking up the CD, I sprang for the special edition which comes with a bonus disc of 8 extra songs and a video on the making of the album.  Often times I find these bonus discs to be disappointing, but not in this case.  Some of the songs present are every bit as good as the ones on the regular album ("When She's Gone" is excellent, as is "Game Face").  There are, however, 3 very short tracks (various background parts or outtakes from "A Flash Before My Eyes", at least I think so...)  that are pretty much meaningless and only valuable as novelty items.  The added bonus of a "making of" video is pretty cool, and surprisingly long, though precious little actual recording footage is shown and the video is dominated by clips of Nick D'Virgilio acting up as the class clown and droning some cow bell humor on way, way, way, W A Y too long.

 

One of my pet peeves with modern music is a near-universal lack of artistic album covers.  Take a look at Amazon's list of 2005's best country albums as an example and you'll see what I mean.  All of them are merely portraits of the artist.  Pop music is very similar, with the exception of less clothing.  Thankfully, the prog rock community does not suffer at all from this malady.  The Indside Out Records brochure that comes inside the Octane CD proves the fact, and Octane is no exception.  The CD booklet is very well designed, featuring black & white and red photos of the band members as well as various images of antique-style gas pumps, photos that go along with the song lyrics, and the lyrics themselves.

 

Overall, I'm extremely impressed with this music and would grade Octane as a solid A.  Out of 21 CDs that I bought which were released in 2005, I would easily place this in the top 5.

 

 

I have been looking forward to writing this for some time now.  2005 has been an OUTSTANDING year for music.  At least I'm convinced of it.  :) 

 

I used to think that the tunes played on those trendy teen TV shows (like "The O.C." (O.Crap?), "Smallville", etc.) were the best mainstream music had to offer these days.  There was no wonder that greedy music execs were always complaining about lost revenues.  The only way they could get people to buy half of the crap they offered was to make the album cover as close to something from the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue as possible.  Catering to what they see as the lowest common denominator.  Sex, skin, bubble-gum pop and hip-hop.

 

Then a couple of years ago, on a trip to Circuit City of all places, I picked up a brand new CD by a side-project duo calling themselves Conspiracy.  The album was "The Unknown".  See, I used to think that artistic rock music was a thing of the past.  Started in the 60s, cultivated in the 70's, barely alive in the 80's and long dead today, in favor of what modern music peeps push out that Genesis might refer to as "The Endless Parade of Lifeless Packaging".  All image and no substance.  So one of those bands that I adore and which helped to pioneer progressive rock beginning in the late 60s, was Yes.  Back to my story at Circuit City.  I had read that Chris Squire (co-founder of Yes) and Billy Sherwood (member and producer of Yes for some time in the 90s) formed Conspiracy and did some recording in their free time while not part of Yes or other ventures.  I had never managed to find the first Conspiracy release, but the second one was brand new right before my very eyes in Circuit City and I happily claimed it.  Inside that CD was a small advertisement showing off albums from various MODERN prog rock bands.  Anyone who ever bought a CD from Radiant Records will know what I'm talking about.  I didn't know that anyone besides the members of Yes were still putting out long, epic musical masterpieces, and even this advertisement didn't really clue me into the fact.  It just showed me that there were practicing musicians calling themselves prog artists out there.  I put no stock in the notion to begin with because to me Yes was prog and nobody else could do it to the beautiful and respectable level that they did.

 

Boy was I in for an education.

 

And really I should have known better, and might have if I'd been a fully educated Yes fan at the time.  It wasn't until my birthday in 2004 that I fully rounded out my collection of Yes studio albums.  Had I managed that difficult feat earlier, I would have realized that "Relayer" and "Drama" were two of my favorites, and that each of them were done with replacements for one or two of the regular, key members of the band.  Patrick Moraz brought something to Yes on "Relayer" that no one else could have, and with the writing efforts of Alan White, everything gelled into one of the most outstanding pieces of music ever recorded.  And this without the help of Rick Wakeman (in fact, he happily boasts of his absence on the album).  Drama was recorded after both Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman had walked away (Wakeman for the 2nd time of many).  The remaining members (Chris Squire, Steve Howe, and Alan White) chose to replace these seasoned, unimaginably talented players with none other than Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes of the Buggles!?!?  As in "Video Killed the Radio Star" Buggles!  And the weirdest part of it is, it worked!  And it worked very, very well.  Jon Anderson, Rick Wakeman, Steve Howe, Alan White, and Chris Squire do not hold the trademark on progressive rock.  Of course any seasoned Yes fan could name several more musicians that contributed to Yes, some that were even co-founders and who made considerable contributions to prog in other efforts. 

 

But as I say, I was in for an education.  In fact in 2005, I feel like I have taken my place at one of the desks in Jack Black's classroom and made new personal discoveries on his blackboard.  This year I've been a student of rock.

 

And what better year to be a student of rock?  2005 was the year of the veteran rock 'n' roll  icon.  I know I'm going to forget some, but here goes the list:  Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Robert Plant, the Rolling Stones, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, Queen (with the help of Paul Rodgers),  Bon Jovi, Ric Ocasek, Fiona Apple, Sheryl Crow, Earth Wind and Fire, Kate Bush, Depeche Mode, Madonna, Jackson Browne, Neil Diamond, Stevie Wonder, Rod Stewart, Simply Red, Aerosmith, Santana, Deep Purple, Cyndi Lauper, John Mayer (ya not quite a veteran yet, but definitely a major contemporary player), System of a Down, INXS (*snicker*), Dave Matthews Band, Oasis, Ry Cooder, Mariah Carey (*shudder*), Tracy Chapman, Nine Inch Nails, and Adrian Belew all released new albums this year.  And I've already ventured a bit outside of rock with that list, so I may as well mention Trisha Yearwood, Barbra Streisand, Diana Krall, Brad Paisley, Kenny Chesney, Gary Allan, Dolly Parton, Kate Rusby, and Alicia Keys as well as some highly anticipated albums from new players on the scene:  Franz Ferdinand, Death Cab for Cutie (only new to public perception), Ryan Adams (who boasts 3 releases in 2005), Coldplay, My Morning Jacket, and the White Stripes, to keep that list fairly short.  Not to mention what must be 2005's most important historical event in jazz - the discovery and release of the pristine "Thelonius Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall".  And what about the progressive rock arena?  Spock's Beard, Dream Theater, Izz, Neal Morse, Roine Stolt, Porcupine Tree, and a star-studded tribute to Pink Floyd's "The Wall". 

 

What a year.  I'm afraid 2006 might be a bit boring.  Not to say that all of these albums are good or worthy of attention, but certainly many of them are.  And the ones that fall short, at least remind us of the artist's historical value in the textbook of rock.

 

So in the coming days, I plan to write up a few short reviews of the albums I considered worthy of my cash this past year.  Of course, I'll have to wait until after Christmas to see what CDs are under the tree for me and if I get enough money from relatives to order the new "My River Flows" from Izz, because I cannot close out a discussion on 2005 music without commenting on one of my favorite recent personal discoveries.

 

Here's to a new year, which if it's not filled with glorious new music, will be filled with the continuous re-playing of 2005's noteworthy glory.

 

If you haven't yet heard or read about Sony/BMG's rootkit, you should skim through this article right away. 

 

This is dang scary stuff.  I consider myself to be a good customer of the music industry.  I buy my CDs.  I'm a legit customer and now I'm being punished in a big, big way by music industry execs that just don't get it.  If I buy a copy protected Sony/BMG CD that includes this rootkit, my computer becomes vulnerable to hackers and Sony/BMG gets to retrieve info from my PC.  If I illegally obtain the same music, I don't get any of these problems.  Now if I weren't a Christian and didn't feel so strongly that I need to be honest and moral about my music collection, then what in the world is motiviating me to buy CDs from Sony/BMG??  And, rubbing huge salt crystals in this gaping wound and throwing any damage control hopes to the wind, the president of Sony/BMG's digital business division was quoted as reacting in this way:  "Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?"

 

Ya, why should we care when a big corporation installs hidden software designed to monitor our computers without our knowledge and consent, while at the same time creating a huge security hole for attackers to take advantage of?  Wow, I'm stumped. 

 

Nice going Sony.  Nice attitude, Mr. president.

 

Listen to just about any geek podcast or read just about any geek blog right now and you'll see that Sony has just been thrown into a very deep abyss in terms of any kind of respectability or trust factor in the mnds of their customers.  People are going to think twice, maybe even up to three or four times, before buying anything with the Sony name again.  Including the Playstation 3.  And I won't suggest to anyone else what to do, but I know that I'll be checking what label a CD is released on very carefully before buying it.

 

What actually brought all this to mind this morning was my usual Tuesday morning ritual of checking out Amazon's list of new releases.  Man, oh man, it's a short list today.  And if you go to music.aol.com today, you'll find extremely slim pickins in terms of the new CD releases you can listen to in their entirety.  They even included Queen's "A Night At the Opera" which is a fantastic disc, but shows that they were reaching for material this week.  I wonder if the Sony/BMG rootkit fiasco could have anything to do with this?  We already know that discs such as the brand new Neil Diamond have been pulled from shelves due to this being made public.  Perhaps it had a huge effect on releases this week that were expected to ship with the "feature."  Looks like a bad Christmas for the music industry.  And just watch who they blame for it.  Illegal music downloading when in fact, they did it to themselves.  They'll never admit it, they'll just continue to blame it on us and keep going with their witch hunt.

 

 

On November 1st, I was privileged with the best concert experience of my lifetime.  So far.

 

A friend of mine in Oregon told me a few months ago that Petra was doing their last tour and coming to Vancouver.  He wanted me to fly out.  Well, to make a long story short, we ended up doing the opposite.  He flew out here.  Either way, we knew we had to experience this together. 

 

Petra was my favorite band from about 1987 until about 1993ish.  In high school I had written the names of all of their songs up to that point on the cover to my 3-ring binder.  I still rememeber some people seeing certain titles and commenting on them.  Like "Get On Your Knees (And Fight Like a Man)".  One "head-banger" saw that and said something like "That wouldn't work...you'd get your *** kicked!"  I'm sure "Killing My Old Man" made a few people wonder as well.  These days having that written on a binder would probably get a student on a list of closely-monitored kids.

 

Aaron and I, both being PKs (preacher's kids) and both going through teenage years in the eighties, LOVED Petra growing up.  He's seen them a few times in the past, I had seen them twice at Jesus Northwest (1992, 1995) and the two of us went to a concert together in Boise in 1995 not long after the Jesus Northwest festival.  So by the time November 1st rolled around, we were more than pumped for the concert.

 

I took half the day off of work and we headed over to Nampa for the big show sometime around 4, getting there just before 4:30.  We walked right past a tour bus in which someone was practicing a song with a guitar, and up to the front door, expecting it to be locked, forcing us to sit outside.  To our surprise, however it was open and we wandered inside a foyer area where merchandise booths were being set up and a ticket sales table was setup.  We had purchased our tickes just days prior and had managed to get ahold of 2 "gold" tickets, entitling us to seats somewhere in the front 10 rows.

 

After talking to the people at the ticket sales table, we discovered we were the first to show up for the concert and no line had yet been formed.  We were told we were free to stay inside and start the line by the doors to the auditorium.  Which we did.  Shortly we were joined by a friendly and very talkative fellow who apparenlty had made it inside before us but was just scoping out the place before standing in line.  The time waiting passed a little more quickly as we chatted about bands we used to love and those still touring, even though in a much smaller capacity than in their 80s hayday.  Bands such as Stryper, DeGarmo & Key, Geoff Moore & the Distance, and Rez Band were the popular topics, tho we also discussed Kings X who were just here last night, I believe, at a local bar.  As we waxed nostalgic over concerts years past, sound checks for the bands were going on inside the auditorium.  During one of these sound checks, a ranchy guitar riff started playing, I perked up and said "That's 'You Shook Me All Night Long' by AC/DC!".  By this time the line was forming pretty well outside the auditorium doors and a couple of guys nearby stopped and listened.  Smiling, knowingly.  Then the drums kicked in and then someone doing a pretty darn good impression started singing.  For lack of a better word.  I was more than a little unimpressed at this choice of riff for a sound check, but it did seem to be done in a humorous spirit.  I just wish they would have made up better lyrics to go with it.  For the record, it most certainly was not Petra playing and even after watching all 3 of the opening acts, I was unsure who it was.  Perhaps it wasn't even one of the bands, maybe it was equipment guys, I don't know.  But whoever it was, they probably didn't know they already had an audience in the foyer.

 

Finally after waiting since 4:30 inside the bulding, they opened the doors about 6:30 and let us in.  Aaron and I had remained at the front of the line and were more than a little giddy at being the first to walk in and choose seats.  Of course two in the center of the front row were calling our names.

 

The opening acts were interesting.  The first one was made up of very young members.  For the life of me, I cannot remember their name but I do remember that it had the word idle in it somewhere.  These guys were merely ok.  They were not impressive by any means and I even remarked at the time that bands of that particular sound are a dime a dozen right now.  Kind of a Tree63-ish happy medium between Mercy Me and Relient K, but possessing none of the creative flair in their songs of either one.

 

The second band was definitely a step up from the previous one.  These guys were a bit better than mediocre.  I believe their name was "Bread of Stone" or something to that effect anyway.  There was one particularly touching song and a couple of good rockers.  All in all, they showed some promise, but still have a ways to go to completely get rid of that amateur taint in their performance and sound. 

 

The last opener was a band called "Farewell June".  I remember this without a doubt and there's a reason for it.  These guys are a genuine rock and roll band.  They were on fire on stage and put a smile on our faces.  Goofy and yet true to the Spirit of the evening.  I highly recommend looking them up and giving them a listen.

 

Then there was one of those obligatory child or family sponshorship presentations.  Now I don't mind these, typically, but the guy that spoke on this occasion rubbed me the wrong way.  I don't know about other people, but when I see a preacher or speaker go on about God actually talking to him in an audible sense and performing miracles through him like this guy (bringing a child back to life multiple times), a wall goes up between me and him.  And that's what happened.  I know I'm being cynical, but I'm afraid we Christians can have a reputation for being a tad gullible if we don't approach such people with caution.  Sure, it's possible.  But how many times have I had an audible conversation with God or brought people back to life?  Uhh..none.  Ya, that doesn't mean it's impossible, but I'm sure you follow my point by now.  I think it's far more common that we have conversations with God through mentors and friends and in our hearts.  That is something I can relate with.

 

So then that guy walked off-stage, we had a short break and the real fun began.

 

I don't know how long the concert actually lasted, but every second of what followed was pure bliss for an old fan like me.  Aaron and I had often remarked that since this was a farewell tour, they had better do some old school favorites.  And we were not disappointed by any means.  In fact, in the days prior, I kept thinking how great it would be if they were to play "Mine Field" from my favorite Petra album, "On Fire!".  And guess what...they did.  I was ecstatic!  During most of the concert we were on our feet and screaming the words right along with the band, both of us surprised at how much of the lyrics we remembered. 

 

We wished John Lawry could have been there to do the "Jesus Loves You" keyboard trick that became his concert hallmark.  We wished Ronnie Cates would have been there dancing and running all around the stage.  We wished Louie Weaver would have been there with his Micky Mouse bass drum.  And we wished Greg X. Volz would have been there to belt out a few of the super-old-school favorites like "Judas' Kiss", "Beat the System" or "Stand Up".  But even though none of those wishes came true which would all have made it a great farewell concert, it still remained an excellent concert experience.  They rocked and they rocked hard.

 

Afterward, we decided to hang out in the foyer area to see if the Petra members would come out for an autograph session.  Aaron picked up the "Farewell June" CD and got it autographed by the band.  He also bought me a Petra T-shirt and I picked up one of 2 Petra CDs I still hadn't added to my collection.  I have all of their studio albums on cassette from back in the day, but I never managed to get ahold of the "Washes Whiter Than/Never Say Die" double album CD or the "Captured in Time and Space" concert CD.  For some odd reason, they only had the former on their merch table and several copies of "This Means War".  So I managed to fill out my Petra CD collection a bit more with "Washes Whiter Than/Never Say Die".  After roaming around the merch tables for 15 minutes or so, we realized a line was forming that lead to an empty table with 4 chairs.  We were right!  There was going to be a line for autographs.  So we took our place in line and lo and behold, got our opportunity to shake their hands, get their autographs (I had brought along my copy of "Jekyll & Hyde" just in case) and we even managed to get our picture taken with them.

 

What an experience to be able to shake Bob Hartman's hand and thank him personally for the music that helped me get through my teenage years and at the same time helped me grow in my faith and kept me open to whatever God might want to do in my life.

 

That was the best concert I have ever been to.

 

 

 

 

Man, what a slooooooooow week for music.  Everybody must be taking the holiday off. 

 

Not many highlights in the new music today.  A New Enya, A Scott Stapp, yet another Billy Joel collection (was it really neccessary?), A live John Mayer Trio (that actually interests me) OO OO, a BRITNEY SPEARS REMIX CD!!  And yes, it has the obligatory butterfly on the cover.  Jeez, what did they do when they designed that thing, just sit around the studio and say hey, who did the last big remix album?  Sarah McLachlan?  OK, let's do what she did...  A remastered John Lennon, a double-album best of from Reba...  blah blah blah.  Needless to say, if you're looking to pick up some music this week, best go with something that's been calling your name for awhile.

 

What about Scott Stapp?  Why don't I care?  After all, I do list Creed's Weathered  as a favorite album, right?  True.  But Weathered was the first Creed CD to catch my interest.  Creed was good, Weathered was great.  Was Creed good enough to produce a fantastic solo artist that's gunna make me jump around my house with glee when he releases a solo project?  No.  A Thousand times, no.  But he's a Christian solo artist!  That's gotta be great for the Christian music industry, right?  No.  Heck, no.  Now go behind the wood shed and hit your own butt hard with a large stick.  Scott Stapp is not great for Christian music.  Neal Morse is great for Christian music.  And by the way, we already have Jeremy Camp, he's BEEN doing what Scott Stapp is just now trying to do.  And he's been doing it very well, thank you.  Nuff said.

 

P.S.  Have I even listened to the new Scott Stapp on music.aol.com?  Err, no...  But I will now and see if I'm wrong.

 

And yes I have been grumpy lately.

 

Why?  Well, it could have something to do with the CDs I'm waiting for from bn.com.  A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that they were having a sale on certain CDs.  I could pick 2 CDs that add up to about 26 bucks, get free "3 day" shipping, then apply my membership discount and the total comes to 24 and change.  Not too bad for music from Barnes "we charge 10 bucks more than Target for pretty much everything" & Noble.  So I figured I'd pick up a couple CDs that I've been having a hard time finding in local stores.  I mean I was going to have to order them off the internet somewhere anyway.  So I picked Nexterday by Ric Ocasek and ? by Neal Morse.  I ordered them Thursday morning a couple weeks ago.  I eagerly watched the emails from bn.com and tracked the package on UPS.  They were scheduled to be delivered on the 15th, the Tuesday following the Thursday I ordered them.  They arrived Monday, the 14th.  I was ecstatic.  This is great.  I can order relatively inexpensive, hard to find CDs and get them delivered without additional cost very quickly.  This makes me happy.  So, I figure the sale is going to end soon, I better take advantage of this again.  Last Thursday I picked out a couple more CDs I've been wanting.  Wanting to expand my Dream Theater collection, I grabbed Train of Thought and, having been interested in checking out King Crimson for quite some time, I picked out Discipline.  It has Bill Bruford and Tony Levin.  How could it possibly be a bad disc??  Besides it's legendary in their catalog.  So, to make a long story short, the 2 CDs shipped separately 2 days apart, one on Friday and one on Monday and both are set to arrive on Wednesday.  Nice 3-day shipping, eh?  Oh and can someone please explain the following to me??

 

8:40 A.M.
BOISE, ID, US   
ARRIVAL SCAN 
8:10 A.M.    SALT LAKE CITY, UT, US    THE SCHEDULED FLIGHT WAS CANCELED AND CAUSED THIS DELAY DUE TO CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND UPS CONTROL 
8:00 A.M.    SALT LAKE CITY, UT, US    THE SCHEDULED FLIGHT WAS CANCELED AND CAUSED THIS DELAY DUE TO CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND UPS CONTROL 
7:26 A.M.    SALT LAKE CITY, UT, US    DEPARTURE SCAN 
5:45 A.M.    SALT LAKE CITY, UT, US    ARRIVAL SCAN 
4:19 A.M.    LOUISVILLE, KY, US    DEPARTURE SCAN 
Nov 21, 2005
2:38 A.M.   
SECAUCUS, NJ, US   
DEPARTURE SCAN 
Nov 20, 2005
2:50 P.M.   
LOUISVILLE, KY, US   
ARRIVAL SCAN 
Nov 19, 2005
12:42 A.M.   
SECAUCUS, NJ, US   
ORIGIN SCAN  
 

They seem a little defensive about the flight being canceled.  But what isn't beyond their control is shipping a package from New Jersey to Kentucky to New Jersey to Kentucky.  That's just hilarious.  They must have a goofball like me working over there at UPS.

 

Anyway, my music should arrive tomorrow and hopefully put me in a better mood.

 

The winner of the latest round of American Idol, Carrie Underwood, releases a CD today titled "Some Hearts".  If you're a fan like me, this is a day you've been looking forward to.  Last season was the first of American Idol that I have enjoyed watching from beginning to end.  I usually get bored very quickly after they move everyone to Holllywood.  This season, however, the show seemed to be full of genuine talent and I was absolutely thrilled to see Carrie graduated from the contest with top honors.  She deserved it.

 

If you're interested in hearing the CD before purchasing or if you won't get a chance to pick it up for a couple days but are dying to hear it, go check out the AOL Music site featuring the new CD and listen to it in its entirety as I am doing as I type this.  Do it while you can as they move music out of this site, and new stuff in very rapidly.

 

What else comes out today? 

 

 Madonna's "Confessions on a Dance Floor", but who cares.  Does anybody still listen to what she is bafflingly passing off as music anymore?  She does know what a melody is, right? 

 

 Many a gritty, blue-collar American rock fan will be excited today for the release of "Born to Run", the 30th anniversary set from Bruce Springsteen. 

 

The newest Harry Potter soundtrack, a live Jimmy Buffett, a live Moody Blues, a Dire Straits/Mark Knopfler best of, a live Loggins & Messina, and a remastered classic from Jackson Browne also break out today.

 

Also, if you're a fan of P.O.D. and missed a little 1999 disc called "The Warriors EP" and cry when you can't find it for less than 75 bucks online, you may want to grab its sequel just in case, "The Warriors EP, Vol. 2" releasing today.

It is my firm belief that Paul McCartney is the reigning king of rock and roll.  After all, Elvis is gone, and who of those who came after him changed the face of popular music as profoundly as the Beatles?  And, although all four members were fab as we all know, Paul obviously is the only one left of the dynamic songwriting duo that made the Beatles more popular than...tie-dye.  So there you have it, the reigning king of rock and roll.  Sir Paul.

 

So since September 13, when this disc released I've been wanting to pick up a copy.  Recently I gave in and gave in big, springing for the Special Edition which was a good 10 bucks more than the Plain-Jane "Chaos and Creation" but included a DVD with a documentary and a video. 

 

Target had the Special Edition discs sitting with a sign behind them detailing the features of a DualDisc product.  Because of this, I was fooled into thinking this was a DualDisc.  I was misled.  It is 2 discs:  a CD and a DVD.  And the DVD does not contain audio of the entire album as the DVD side of DualDiscs do.  Which is one of the reasons I bought the special edition.  It had a DTS logo on it and, being a moron, I thought that meant that the entire album audio on the DVD was in DTS when typically it's in 5.1  on DualDiscs.  When I got home and realized the error of my thinking processes, I figured oh well, I still get a music video in DTS and a cool documentary on the making of the album.  After reviewing the entire contents of the DVD, I have come to the conclusion that I wasted 10 bucks of my money getting the special edition.  The DVD is ok.  Nothing all that special.  But, the outside cover is way cooler on the special edition, so I'll hang onto that in my feeble mind as the value of my extra money...

 

So after reviewing the DVD (yes I'm the kind of guy who checks out the extra stuff first), I put in the CD, curled up in a blanket, followed along with the song lyrics in the CD booklet, and listened to it in its entirety.

 

This is not a great rock and roll album.  I would describe this as a very classy album by an extremely talented musician in his sixties.  Nothing rocks very hard at all, but there are some great melodies, a few songs that instantly caught my interest, and some down-to-earth lyrics coming from a guy who's seen this old planet go around the sun quite a few times.  Probably the most amazing thing about "Chaos and Creation" is the fact that Paul actually plays the vast majority of the instruments himself.  In fact, on 3 songs, he plays all instruments.  On many others, he's accompanied by only 2 or 3 addtional musicians.  I can't help but wonder how many other pop music figures could pull that off.

 

The opener "Fine Line" was an excellent choice to kick the disc off as it's very peppy and one of the more likely songs you may unexpectedly find yourself singing in the shower.  Not that I ever do that myself.  Not that there's anything wrong with that...  "Fine Line" is one of many piano-heavy tracks, and part of what makes the disc well worth the purchase, unlike the next song. 

 

Paul and producer Nigel Godrich seem to be very proud of the second track "How Kind of You" as it's used in the menu of the DVD.  This is the only song on the CD that I wish had not been included.  I pretty much hate it.  Something about it's slow movement seems to drag unimpressive melodies on forever.  The lyrics are very sweet, however, indicating a song that could have been made much more impacting.

 

"Jenny Wren" became an instant favorite the second it started playing.  It's a very simple-sounding accoustic guitar piece, beautifully fingerpicked, that I have read compared to "Blackbird" on the White Album.  I think that's an excellent comparison.  A gorgeous song, showing a great talent for crowd-pleasing with the simple sound of a softly-played guitar.

 

"At the Mercy" starts out with a catchy melody and some relatable lyrics, "At the mercy of a busy day..."  However, it goes on, "If you show me love I won't refuse.  I know you'd never make me choose between the love I've got and the love I'd lose."  I can't say I understand exactly that the lyrics mean, but to me, I instantly got the mental picture of a rock star who's had countless women throw themselves at him.  And in this mental picture (which may not be what was intended by Paul), it seems Paul is more than willing to let these women come on to him, saying they won't make him choose between him and his serious love interest, be it a wife or whatever.  So this image, which is entirely my own interpretation, pretty much ruins the song for me.  I can relate to "At the mercy of a busy day", so I'm instantly drawn in, and then just as soon as that happens, I'm repulsed.  Another interpretation which came to mind is that he could be expressing to his new wife how he accepts her adoration and love, knowing that she won't require him to abandon the memory of his wife Linda, whom he lost to cancer not very many years ago.  I should probably just pretend this is what is meant by the song, but the other image came first, so it's difficult to dismiss...

 

"Friends to Go" might be my favorite song on this disc.  In the DVD documentary, Paul says that he realized while recording it that it's a song that could have been written by George Harrison.  It's a guitar-driven song that indeed does seem to have sort of his feel to it.  It's lyric is also relatable, with the singer stating that he's "been waiting on the other side for your friends to go" so that he can go be with the object of his affection.

 

"English Tea" shows Paul's sense of humor.  It's a very light-hearted piano-and-strings piece with as many uniquely British terms as he could possibly squeeze into it.  The only downer is the short recorder part in the middle that ends on a note sounding like it was played by that red-haired girl in "Mr. Holland's Opus"...before Mr. Holland taught her to "play the sunset".  This song reminds me of some of the incredibly witty tracks on Queen's "A Night at the Opera" that were done in older song styles ("Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon", Seaside Rendezvous", "Good Company"), although "English Tea" is not quite as outrageous as those.  If you're not smiling by the end of this one, then...well then you're just an impossible stick-in-the-mud!  So there.

 

Another guitar-driven song, "Too Much Rain" follows and keeps the mid-section of "Chaos and Creation" moving at a pleasing pace.  Lyrics such as "It's not right, in one life, too much rain" and "You've got to learn to laugh" deal with hardships in life and encourage us to meet the challenge with smiles and determination.

 

"A Certain Softness" takes the listener on an unexpected, yet soothing turn.  A love song in the form of a samba, certainly rare for a contemporary pop release, but welcome.  Paul shows his sentimental side in a very classy way.  "Got me hooked" - a lyric that many a female Beatles groupie can relate with.  At least I assume so.

 

"Riding to Vanity Fair" is another low point on the disc to me.  It has a repetitious, 2-note keyboard phrase that just seems to keep coming over and over.  I suspect it's in an attempt to set the melancholy mood for the tune.  But for me, it's just annoying.  The string section makes this song endurable, so I don't hate it like "How Kind of You", but it's really not one of the best songs here.

 

"Follow Me" is a guitar track of just average level.  It's not very catchy, and one of the forgettable songs in the middle of more interesting pieces.  However, to be fair, the melancholy mood works far better in this song than the previous one.

 

And that's when "Promise To You Girl" comes in.  And after the previous two songs, it feels like a splash of cool fresh water on your face.  This is a piano piece that will get your foot tapping and recalls a hint of those famous Beatles harmonies and even a little Beach Boys-esque falsetto.

 

"This Never Happened Before" takes the tempo down a notch as we near the end of Paul's latest musical work of art.  Another piano-driven track, this thoughtful love song sounds like an adult contemporary piece you might hear on the "love songs" show of your local easy-listening station.  Parts of it sound like they could have been written by Michael McDonald or Christopher Cross.  Even though I'm making fun of it a little by saying that, this is a very calming melody suitable for any romantic, candle-lit date.  Definitely a gem of the collection.

 

"Anyway" closes "Chaos and Creation" in much the same style as the previous track.  This song also sounds like it could be heard on any "hits of the 70s, 80s, 90s and today" radio station.  There is a vocal "aaaaah" part that sounds very retro, recalling an older adult contemporary sound again, but then that mood is quickly brushed aside as the piano returns the song to a more modern sound.  "Anyway" is also a very calming and excellent song, part of what makes this release such a classy collection of music. 

 

After 3 and half minutes of "Anyway" have passed, silence ensues, cluing-in the experienced CD listener to a coming hidden or bonus track.  In reality, tho what follows seems to just be some random instrumental pieces tacked on to the end of the CD.  They are interesting, but ultimately unimportant.  I do find it very interesting that this is the only place on "Chaos and Creation" where any kind of gainy, rock guitar is evident, which to me is a shame.

 

Overall, I find "Chaos and Creation in the Backyard" to be a welcome addition to my CD collection, featuring several songs that I'm sure will get repeated playing on my iPod.  Ironically, there really is no chaos here, and in comparison to the legendary stories of the Beatles in their studio sessions, not much creation either.  However it is full of beautiful melodies, thoughtful lyrics, and masterful musicianship.  I highly recommend it.  Unfortunately, Paul McCartney is not very well represented by MusicMatch's On-Demand service, so I was unable to listen to it before buying the CD, but in this case it payed off.

Just when I thought this was going to be a REALLY slow week for music/music news....  I found this article on the New England Art Rock Society news page!

 

A NEW CD by Neal Morse!!  And it releases in less than two weeks!  Oh boy, I feel all giddy inside...  :)

 

This thing is going to rock.  I mean, look at the musicians:  Jordan Rudess (keyboardist for Dream Theater), Mike Portnoy (drummer for Dream Theater), Alan Morse (guitarist for Spock's Beard), Roine Stolt (guitarist for the Flower Kings), and Steve Hackett (solo artist/guitarist formerly of Genesis (Up until "Seconds Out")) 

 

The album cover is also very intruiging.  It shows the Tabernacle in a sea of sand, with smoke rising up, forming a question mark before ascending beyond the top of the picture.  The article linked above to NEARS's news page includes a link to Neal Morse's site where you can read more about the concept of the album.  If I read it right, it appears to be dedicated to concepts, ideas, questions about God.  Very, very cool. 

 

With this coming after "One", it seems Neal has a real knack for doing concept albums that make you wonder why no one has ever done them before.  They seem to address very basic concepts of Christianity, but yet concepts that can be very deep.  They should be no-brainers for a Chrsitian musician.  But I'm glad he's the one to tackle them.  Well at least I know I'm glad with "One" as that CD is definitely among my favorites this year.  With his line-up for "?", I suspect I will love the next CD also. 

 

I just can't get over it.  Two people from Dream Theater, one from Spock's Beard, and one, of course, former songwriter, vocalist, and guitarist for Spock's Beard.  Both of those bands released albums this year, "Octavarium" by the former, "Octane" by the latter.  That seems like a lot of Octs.  Anyway, both of these are excellent and I have listened to them repeatedly this year.  The song "Octavarium" is a personal favorite for 2005.

 

So support Neal Morse!  He's an amazing musician and songwriter and he really seems to genuinely love God, touring, sharing the Gospel, and putting together meaningful concept albums.  He's of a rare sort and we're lucky to have him in the Kingdom with us.

 

 

Today Kate Rusby releases a new CD in the US!!!  "The Girl Who Couldn't Fly" graces shelves in nearby music stores if you're lucky and live in a town big enough to have a music store that isn't afraid to stock an artist's CDs who most people this side of "the pond" have never heard of...

 

Ok, I'm pretty sure I know what you're thinking when I say "British folk music"...but guess what...it's AWESOME!  I discovered Kate Rusby all by my lonesome when I went to Barnes and Noble one night in a mood to explore music unknown to me.  I kept one of their listening stations quite busy, scanning disc after disc until I came across "Little Lights" and instantly fell in love with her sometimes-frail and heavily-accented voice.  I knew I need look no further and brought that music home to my CD player and my heart, later broadening my collection of her music to include "Sleepless" (my favorite of hers) and "Underneath The Stars". 

 

Check out a Kate Rusby CD.  Try the new one, try an older one, it doesn't matter, they are all amazingly heart-warming and charming.  You won't be sorry!

 

There's not too much else releasing today that's worthy of getting excited about.  Gary Allen's "Tough All Over", Jackson Browne's "Solo Acoustic, Vol. 1", Default's "One Thing Remains" (Hey, maybe this one has more than one hit on it), Depeche Mode's "Playing the Angel", and Simply Red's "Simplified" are about all that I would at least be interested in hearing bits of, personally.  Without Kate Rusby, it would be a pretty slow week for new music!  :)

 

***********************

 

I had an attempt at a profound thought today.  A very good-looking and close friend pointed me to this forum article this morning.  We are both extremely geeky and into that which dominates pretty much all geeks' lives lately, World of Warcraft.  The server we both play on is a PvP server, which means that players of opposing factions in the game can slay each other, any time, any place they meet (rather than only concentrating on the computer-controlled monsters).  This article had me laughing right away just due to the humor with which it was written.  Written from the perspective of the "Horde", it basically preaches "Kill Alliance (the opposing faction in the game) with every opportunity", disregarding any tact, or gestures of goodwill a player may be tempted to show the enemy.  These are weaknesses.  In context of the game, I fully agree with the attitudes expressed in the article.  It's appropriate.  It's true. 

 

Then a friend of mine came over to chat about fantasy football, and knowing him to have been quite the Stryper fan back in the day, I mentioned to him that they are coming to town in less than a week.  We started talking about the band and I remembered seeing nearly every guy in 7th grade wearing a "To Hell With the Devil" T-shirt for awhile.  They were quite the "in" thing.  I remember seeing those shirts in my middle school days and being very turned-off to the attitude of the title "To Hell With the Devil".  Obviously, it's designed to be shocking and rebellious, using the terms Hell and Devil freely when the Christian community usually shies away from them, the puplit-pounding preacher excluded, of course.  After all, shock value and rebellion are what rock and roll are all about.  Especially the pop-metal hair-bands of the 80s.  But it's also funny as Stryper got away with having that rebellious rock attitude while promoting a very conservative idealism.  Looking back, I have to appreciate the irony of a Christian metal band conning secular teens into promoting their purely Christian ideals, all the while remaining "cool".  This is not an easy feat, no matter what the decade or social trend.

 

But it occured to me today after reading that article on proper PvP domination and then remembering "To Hell With the Devil" that there are times when such an aggressive attitude is appropriate.  After all, Christians are key players in a spiritual battle and battles are won by the best aggressor, the smartest and strongest.  Satan is tricky and doesn't lend himself to being overly forgiving or generous to those on his opposing faction.  he prowls around like a roaring lion, looking to tear somebody up.  Christians sometimes could use a bit more spiritual aggression (accompanied by a healthy dose of wisdom, of course).  Perhaps praying for the person who's currently making your life miserable, recruiting others to pray for someone who's being terrorized by Satan, thinking pro-actively about what you can do to advance the Kingdom of God.  What if we did what we could to terrorize Satan?  I'm sure he hates to see us praying for the people he's using against us.  The world could use a LOT more love and a lot more damage done to the fallen faction.

 

So there's a little impromptu geek's devotion.  For those who appreciate both geeky computer games and geeky 80s-big-hair-pop-metal bands.

 

To Hell With the Devil.

 

YA!!

 

 

The first time I'd heard of it, my best friend in middle school described it in detail, as if entrusting me with a mysterious secret.  In high school I remember small details about it being discussed in a documentary on the evils of rock and roll.  It was mentioned in the movie Men in Black as if it were some kind of audio staple.  I saw it at Wal-Mart last time I was there perusing the music section.  And all this time, I had never heard "The White Album" for myself.  So the next time my wife was at the store and asked if there was anything I wanted...I figured I'd mention it.  And my wonderful wife came through for me, bringing home a double-CD case with a simple white cover stating only "The BEATLES".

 

To my shame, this is only the 4th Beatles album I've added to my collection, joining "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", "Rubber Soul", and "1" (which doesn't really qualify).  "Revolver" is the only favorite of mine that I have yet to add, having heard it, along with many other classic rock jewels, while at college in the early 90s when a local radio station was in the habit of playing a classic album from beginning to end starting at midnight each evening.  I discovered many of my favorite albums in this way.

 

"The White Album" (released in 1968), in historical context, is really the start of the unraveling of the Beatles.  The members were not getting along well in the studio, and Ringo Starr had even quit for a short time during the sessions.  A result of this being that Paul McCartney actually played the drums on some tracks, including "Back in the U.S.S.R.".  Also, due to other recording studio tensions, George Harrison invited Eric Clapton to play on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" in order to counter the casual attitude he felt his song was getting from Paul and John.

 

Keeping events in context, many songs included resulted from the Beatles visiting the Mahirishi Mahesh Yogi in India, such as "Dear Prudence", "The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill", "I'm So Tired", and "Sexy Sadie".  These songs were inspired by events involving friends they had brought along on the trip (Prudence was Mia Farrow's sister) as well as people they met there.  "Sexy Sadie" was the result of John Lennon's lost faith in the Mahirishi which was apparently based on a misunderstanding.

 

The most disturbing thing about "The White Album", however, was something I had completely forgotten but learned in my high school days from that evils of rock and roll documentary I mentioned earlier.  This album supposedly inspired Charles Manson to concoct utterly repulsive ideas, leading to the murders of several individuals, including director Roman Polanski's then-pregnant wife, Sharon Tate.  I say "supposedly inspired" as it obvious to me that Charles Manson needed little external inspiration, and the Beatles were horrified when they learned that their songs had been so enormously misinterpreted.

 

The final piece of history revolving around this album that I'll mention is that it has a few additions for the Paul is Dead craze that many fans have perpetrated.  "Glass Onion" contains lyrics ("The walrus is Paul" and others) seemingly directed at these fans, which actually confuses me, as the hoax supposedly did not begin until 1969.  At the end of "I'm So Tired" gibberish can be heard, which when played backwards, supposedly says "Paul is a dead man, miss him, miss him, miss him."  It sounds more like "One is a dead man" to me.  Also, Revolution 9 is the famous track that, when played in reverse contains the phrase "turn me on, dead man."  As a side note, the afore-mentioned evils of rock documentary mentioned this fact, parading it as a shameful statement in support of necrophilia.  I personally see this as utterly ridiculous and wonder if these sounds may have been part of some gimmick by the band, and not, as suggested by the Paul is Dead hoax, a secret plan to prop up an unknown as a Paul McCartney look- and sound-alike.  Especially since these Paul is Dead clues go back to Sgt. Pepper's in 1967 and the hoax began in 1969.  But this is something I know little about and can only speculate on.

 

So enough facts surrounding the album.  What about the music itself?  Well, if you're looking for classics, the ones included here are "Back in the U.S.S.R.", "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da", "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", "Happiness is a Warm Gun", "Birthday", "Helter Skelter", and "Revolution 1". 

 

"Back in the U.S.S.R." is Paul poking fun at the Beach Boys, which is evident by the satirical falsetto and the lyrics praising Ukrainian girls. 

 

I didn't recognize "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" by the title, but when it started playing I had to sing along, recognizing the chorus.  This is one of those tracks that you just have to sing along with, especially the "RAAAH" after "Life goes on", which must be wailed loudly for optimal results. 

 

"While My Guitar Gently Weeps" is one of George Harrison's classic contributions to the Beatles catalogue.  It's a beautiful song, tho some lyrics seem to have been included for no other reason than the fact that they rhyme.  However, it does mark one of the very rare occasions when someone outside the band recorded on a Beatles album. 

 

"Happiness is a Warm Gun" obviously comes from John and his love-peace political stance, based on an actual magazine article title and written to emphasize the absurdity of someone feeling gratification from having shot someone or something. 

 

"Birthday" is a classic in my mind just because I grew up hearing it as the birthday theme song on radio morning shows when people would phone in birthday announcements for friends and family. 

 

Although "Helter Skelter" will forever be remembered with horrible connotation due to Charles Manson, if it is at all possible to set that imagery aside, the song has better reason to be considered a classic.  Written about an amusement park ride, and inspired by a wild, loud rock recording by The Who, it is widely regarded as one of the first heavy metal songs and pre-dates Led Zeppelin's first album, released in 1969, which is generally considered the first heavy metal album.

 

"Revolution 1" is instantly recognizable to anyone who has seen Nike commercials in the early 90s.  However, as I found out, this version is very different from the one Nike used.  This one is noticeably slower and less rockin.  However, it still gets me singing along every time as the melody is fantastic.  Now I just have to go buy a copy of the Beatles' "Past Masters, Vol. 2" in order to get the version I had in mind.

 

Much of the rest of the album is less-than-sophisticated humor, beautiful love songs, tributes to various musical styles, and very likely drug-induced.  One song in particular is my favorite on the album, tho I would never sing it in front of my parents, but its humor is so juvenile and stupid that I find it very endearing and find myself belting it out now and then.  I'll just have to be careful that it only happens at home and not in my 2nd grade Sunday school class.

 

So should you go out and buy a copy of The White Album?  Well, it depends.  It's not likely to become one of your favorite road-trip albums, or even a favorite relaxing-at-home-while-playing-spider-solitaire album.  But it is a big entry in the history of rock and roll.  If you're a Beatles fan and want to collect the works, then it's required.  For others, it's probably more of a novelty and just an entry in the history books, tho it does definitely have moments that shine.