In June, I had the opportunity to receive a courtesy copy of the latest edition of Dave Lewis’s legendary Led Zeppelin fanzine, Tight But Loose (TBL). Dave has changed up TBL for the 26th issue with a redesign and a full colour look.
Sometimes life brings the smallest pleasures, and it was so with my TBL before I even opened the envelope. On the envelope itself there was four of the Royal Mail album cover stamps. I had a relation send me a set of these, so I recognized them immediately, but it’s nice to have some proper ones, that have been enveloped and post marked. So there I was sitting looking at the envelope, complete with London Calling, Ziggy Stardust, Tubular Bells and Led Zeppelin 4 (he even got my favourites of the albums), enjoying TBL before I even opened it.
You know when you love the envelope, inside is going to be a treat. So it was with TBL. For the Zeppelin addict, it is a 32 page treasure trove of information and, most impressive, newspaper clippings. Besides a Led Zeppelin knowledge base that’s second to none, Lewis appears to have a phenomenal collection of Led Zeppelin articles, reviews and clippings. The magazine is littered with scans from old newspapers, and each story is better for them.
From an information standpoint, TBL misses nothing. The feature story on this edition was a review of Zeppelin’s live appearances in 1970 (part 1). But it has reviews of Them Crooked Vulture concerts, interviews with a trio of former Robert Plant guitarists (none of them called Jimmy Page or Robbie Blunt unfortunately - my two favourite RP sidemen), an interview with NME’s Nick Kent and very early mentions of Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience and Black Country Communion - who were still sorting out their name at the time of publication.
Lewis has a statement in the Editorial:
…web sites are for browsing, the TBL magazine is for reading again and again.
He’s right, and in second reading this week, the most interesting article was an interview with BCC singer/bassist Glenn Hughes. When I first read the interview in June, Black Country Communion were barely a story, there were even rumours of a rift within’ the band before it had even started. Since then, they have an album, a release date, and a song available. They are a going concern, and the Led Zeppelin fan who’s getting excited about the upcoming CD will find the interview excellent.
I want to thank Dave Lewis for the preview edition of Tight But Loose, which I loved. So much so that I bought a subscription for the next two editions, and am looking forward to receiving #27 in the next couple of weeks. And Dave, I hope you made a note of which stamps I already have (although I can never have too many Zeppelin IV stamps).
The reviews are starting to come in. First up is Mojo Magazine:
With ties to all three of heavy rock’s most iconic bands –Black Sabbath,Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin – Black Country Communion is a modern supergroup to rival Them Crooked Vultures. BCC comprises Glenn Hughes, once of Purple and Sabbath, on vocals and bass; Jason Bonham, son of Bonzo on drums; Joe Bonamassa America’s new blues hero, on guitar and vocals; and Derek Sherinian, formerly of pro-metal masters Dream Theater, on keyboards. The music is as expected: blues-based heavy rock with a late-‘60s/early ‘70s feel. But where the Vultures are jam-driven, BCC have great songs, from badass single One Last Soul to Bonamassa’s Hendrix-meets-Zep showpiece Song Of Yesterday. And with 58-year-old former cokehead Hughes singing as powerfully as he did in ’74, Black Country Communion is one supergroup that really lives up to its billing.
They give it four stars.
Based on what I’ve been hearing, and One Last Soul, I’m looking very forward to this release. And I’m pleased to report that I will have an advance review sometime in the next week or thereabout.
Not without crontroversy, Jason Bonham will tour in tribute to his father this fall, with the Jason Bonham Led Zeppelin Experience. Bonham has tried to keep things under wraps as much as possible, but we know the show will feature live Led Zeppelin music (musicians in the band are currently unknown), pictures and a father son drum solo, with Jason playing along with a video of his father’s classic solo piece, Moby Dick.
Currently the following dates are listed:
Oct. 8: Dawson Creek, B.C. - Encana Events Center
Oct. 9: Prince George, B.C. - CN Centre
Oct. 12: Edmonton, AB - Northern Alberta Jubilee
Oct. 13: Red Deer, AB - Enmax Centre
Oct. 14: Calgary, AB - Southern Alberta Jubilee
Oct. 16: Regina, SK - Brandt Centre
Oct. 17: Winnipeg, MB - MTS Centre
Oct. 19: Minneapolis, Minn. - State Theatre
Oct. 20: Milwaukee, Wis. - Riverside Theatre
Oct. 21: Merrilville, Ind. - Star Plaza
Oct. 23: Montral, QUE - Metropolis
Oct. 25: Quebec City, QUE - Grand Theatre
Oct. 27: Hamilton, ON - Hamilton Place/Great Hall
Oct. 28: Kitchener, ON - Centre in the Square
Oct. 29: Toronto, ON - Sony Centre
Oct. 30: Rochester, N.Y. - Auditorium Theater
Nov. 2: Boston, Mass. - The Orpheum
Nov. 3: Red Bank, N.J. - Count Basie Theater
Nov. 4: Englewood, N.J. - Bergen PAC
Nov. 6: Philadelphia, Pa. - Merriam Theater
Nov. 8: New York, N.Y. - Nokia Theatre
Nov. 13: Jacksonville, Fla. - Florida Theater
Nov. 14: Clearwater, Fla. - Ruth Eckerd Hall
Nov. 16: Houston, Texas - Verizon Theatre
Nov. 17: Tulsa, Okla. - Spirit Bank Event Center
Nov. 18: Dallas, Texas - Fairpark Music Hall
Nov. 21: Riverside, Calif. - Fox PAC
Nov. 23: Los Angeles, Calif. - Pantages Theater
Nov. 26: Portland, Ore. - Schnitzer Concert Hall
Nov. 27: Seattle, Wash. - WaMu Theater
Nov. 29: Vancouver, BC - The Centre PAC
A review will appear in these pages after the October 28th Kitchener, Ontario show - more or less my hometown.
Black Country Communion is the latest “supergroup,” involving a Led Zeppelin member. Drummer Jason Bonham joins Derek Sherinian, Glenn Hughes and Joe Bonamassa to form the group, named after the area of Britain where Hughes and Bonham are from.
Hughes is the former bass player from Deep Purple, replacing Roger Glover in 1973. He stayed with Deep Purple until they broke up in 1976. Their biggest song of his era would have been Burn, from the album of the same name. Although Hughes was also considered a singer, he debuted with Deep Purple at the same time as their new singer, David Coverdale (who would, years later, form Coverdale Page with Jimmy Page).
Joe Bonamassa is considered a guitar prodigy. He has played with a vast array of blues artists including Eric Clapton and BB King. But he is mostly known for a successful solo career, that includes an excellent, but radio friendlier version of a song I have long loved: Tim Curry’s Sloe Gin.
Derek Sherinian is a keyboard player who played keyboards for Alice Cooper during the ”Trash” and “Hey Stoopid” period. He would go on to tour with Kiss, including playing on their Alive III album before beginning a solo career in 1999.
Their first single is One Last Soul, available for free download at the Black Country Communion website. A sneak peek can also be had on the groups MySpace page.
Of all the post 02 Zeppelin material to appear to date, One Last Soul has been the easiest to like. Known for his funky, soul tinged bass lines, Glenn Hughes blends with Jason Bonham to create a tight rhythm section which drives the song.
It is, in point of fact, a very rhythmic song, having a classic rock groove without sounding 30 years old. The chorus has a solid hook, sticking in your head once the song is done.
At the same time, in looking for a point of comparison, One Last Soul is not immediately reminiscent of any other song.
One Last Soul is a nice introduction to what looks like it may be a solid rock band in the upcoming year.
The album, “Black Country Communion,” will be released Sept 21, 2010, and the band expects to tour in 2011.
Black Country Communion features Bonham on drums with Joe Bonamassa on guitar, Glenn Hughes on bass and vocals and Derek Sherinian on keyboards.
The self titled debut album will be available Sept 21st. Pre-orders are available, as well as t-shirts. A free download of One Last Soul is also available - use the promo code OLS2010.
Meanwhile, here;s a live video from One Last Soul from March. This band, based on the one song, sounds really good and I am looking forward to this album.
Saturday April 17 was Independent Record Store Day. Many artists contributed material to be sold exclusively in participating stores, including Them Crooked Vultures. Them Vultures contributed a special 10″ picture disc with Mind Eraser, No Chaser from the Them Crooked Vultures LP, and a new, live track, Hwy 1 on side A. Side B is an interview with Liam Lynch. Here’s some pictures of the disc in question:
The disc came in a red plastic, semi-transparent envelope. Notice the sticker on the top left corner.
The last line, left of the bar code, is the logo for Record Store Day. Here’s the disc, front
and back
Pity Jimmy Page, who has suggested he has new material to release this year, didn’t put up a tease for Record Store Day. Guess a cool picture disc will have to do.
A new limited edition pictorial autobiography by Genesis Publications is now available to pre-order. The £695 (you read that right, Six-Hundred and Ninety Five British Pounds) Deluxe Edition is already sold out, The Collectors Edition at £395, however, is still available.
It looks like a nice, a very nice edition, but you have to be pretty serious to pay £395 for a book. Personally I’m far to parsimonious to pay more than $500 of my Canadian dollars for any book. Hopefully some of the pictures will make their way to the web.
On December 30, 1968 Led Zeppelin played “an unscheduled appearance on an off night at Gonzaga University in Washington,” (Reddon, Frank : Sonic Boom: The Impact of Led Zeppelin. Vol. 1: Break and Enter. 2008. Enzepplopedia Publishing Inc. p. 431). In his interview with Don Fitzpatrick, the promoter of the Gonzaga gig, Reddon mentions the bootleg recording of the show. Fitzpatrick replies:
I remember there were folks who brought reel-to-reel tape recorders into the Pavilion and asked if they could plug into the gymnasiums electrical outlets. Back in those days, they didn’t have the rules they have today about recording the concert or taking photographs (ibid. pg 165).
Frank cites this interview as being from January 1998, and Don Fitzpatrick passed away in April 2006. The dates are important. Led Zeppelin’s performance at the Kennedy Pavilion at Gonzaga University was their 5th US appearance. Opening for Vanilla Fudge, Led Zeppelin was billed at Len Zefflin in the local Spokesman Review.
Recently, it has been reported, originally by the blog The Metal Den (TMD) that some two year old videos on YouTube were “unearthed.” In fairness to TMD, they never says the videos are new, just that they unearthed them. However, the ambiguous language resulted in a rash of stories suggesting this was new music. It’s one thing for Music for Perfect People to report verbatim what TMD reported, but it seems another thing entirely when a respectable music site like AntiMusic or a magazine such as NME does it. NME’s reportage, considering their reputation in music journalism, may be the most egregious:
Rare clips of Led Zeppelin’s earliest known live recordings have surfaced online.
Three audio clips have emerged on YouTube featuring live recordings from the band’s first tour of America from their fifth US show at Gonzaga Uiversity in Washington on December 30, 1968.
Not just wrong, but completely without credit to TMD.
The band was reportedly in their cups when they arrived at the show, but they sound in fine form in the recording. The sound quality of the clips is not bad, considering some kid plugged in a tape recorder in the back of the room in 1968. Here they are below.
When reviewing a new band made up of established musicians, the temptation is to search for comparisons to past works, to evaluate the new based on the old. Sometimes it bears fruit, Chickenfoot is, after all, nothing but another bad Joe Satriani album, admittedly with vocals. Upon listening to Them Crooked Vultures debut release, the comparisons are begging to be searched out, but the search bears little fruit.
Them Crooked Vultures line-up consists of three significant artists in slightly different areas of rock: Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones; Foo Fighters front man/Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl on drums; Queens of the Stone Age guitarist/singer Josh Homme fronting the band. The result is heavy, pounding rock that hints at the bands roots without ever stealing from them.
During the pre-release live shows Them Crooked Vultures have performed, drummer Grohl has aped his Foo Fighter drummer Tyler Hawkins, with a drumming style that can best be described as bombarding. Constantly in motion, the drumming doesn’t let up. On recording, however, Grohl displays a much more restrained drum style, preferring to stick with the groove, and let the song shine. It is both effective and enhances the music. On the other hand a band fronted by the singer/guitarist from one band is bound to have similarities between the bands. This happens less frequently than you would expect with Queens of the Stone Age/Crooked Vultures front man Homme. Of course it has hints of Queens, as lead singer that’s inevitable. But the risk is always that such a band as Them Crooked Vultures will be an extension of what the front man has always done, and the risk has been nicely avoided here.
Another risk posed by this grouping is that Them Crooked Vultures would become karaoke Led Zeppelin, with Homme having a perennial turn at the microphone. Dave Grohl is an avowed John Bonham fan, and teaming him up on drums with Bonhams rhythm mate Jones, the risk is real that Homme would be playing guitar and singing over an unmistakably Zeppelin back beat. This rap is, too, nicely avoided. Sure, Jones pulls out the clavinet and vamps Trampled Underfoot during Scumbag Blues, the effect is, however, subtle and in the background. In fact, the song borrows far more from Cream than any other known influence. Jones really noticeable creative contribution to this effort is in the arrangement. The songs, almost without fail, twist and turn, bridges with no connection to the song, Codas from left field, time changes, all staples of the Led Zeppelin catalogue, and common through this disk.
If we’re comparing Them Crooked Vultures to Led Zeppelin, however, it should also be noted to the negative that what Them Crooked Vultures lacks is some of Jimmy Page’s famous, “light and shade.” There are few respites from the very heavy, grinding hard edges rock music. No ballads, no light spots outside of psychedelic 60’s tinged Interlude with Ludes, that sounds like a reject from Jones days producing Sunshine Superman, a brass band coda on Mind Eraser no Chaser, a Bontemi Organ ending to Caligulove, and the piano intro to Spinning in Daffodils. The otherwise lack of breathing space may be the bands weakest spot.
It’s strength? The songs. A constant array of solid blues based rockers, including the opening single, the eminently catchy New Fang, No One Loves Me and Neither Do I, The Bowie meets Hendrix Mind Eraser, No Chaser, Elephants, Bandoliers and the aforementioned Scumbag Blues. All superior songs that more than compensate for a few weaker numbers towards disks end.
Being a fan of earlier rock and roll, I like to play a game with new CDs that come out. I trim the song line-up down to 8 or 9 songs - 40-45 minutes of music - as an LP would have been in the 70’s. It offers a fairer comparison between a newer CD and an older album, where much of the excess that makes it to a CD would get cut in mastering. Here’s what I get
Side one
No One Loves Me
Mind Eraser No Chaser
New Fang
Elephants
Caligulove
Side Two
Scumbag Blues
Bandoliers
Warsaw or The First Breath You Take
That’s an album that belongs in my collection. Two sides of great music that blend together into a nice whole. A great album. As it is, Them Crooked Vultures is one of the best albums in a long time, strong songs played with extremely high musicianship in an album of unapologetic rock. What more where you looking for?
I was one of the fortunate few who won a Golden Ticket to go see Led Zeppelin at the 02 arena in London on December 10th. While this blog chronicled my trip to London, the concert, and all things Zeppelin in between, it will remain active until either a Led Zeppelin tour has been completed, or I have given up hope of a tour.
Sometimes life brings the smallest pleasures, and it was so with my TBL before I even opened the envelope. On the envelope itself there was four of the Royal Mail album cover stamps. I had a relation send me a set of these, so I recognized them immediately, but it’s nice to have some proper ones, that have been enveloped and post marked. So there I was sitting looking at the envelope, complete with London Calling, Ziggy Stardust, Tubular Bells and Led Zeppelin 4 (he even got my favourites of the albums), enjoying TBL before I even opened it.
With ties to all three of heavy rock’s most iconic bands –Black Sabbath,Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin – Black Country Communion is a modern supergroup to rival Them Crooked Vultures. BCC comprises Glenn Hughes, once of Purple and Sabbath, on vocals and bass; Jason Bonham, son of Bonzo on drums; Joe Bonamassa America’s new blues hero, on guitar and vocals; and Derek Sherinian, formerly of pro-metal masters Dream Theater, on keyboards. The music is as expected: blues-based heavy rock with a late-‘60s/early ‘70s feel. But where the Vultures are jam-driven, BCC have great songs, from badass single One Last Soul to Bonamassa’s Hendrix-meets-Zep showpiece Song Of Yesterday. And with 58-year-old former cokehead Hughes singing as powerfully as he did in ’74, Black Country Communion is one supergroup that really lives up to its billing.
Upon listening to Them Crooked Vultures debut release, the comparisons are begging to be searched out, but the search bears little fruit.