Last Day In Paradise

Keeping with the Jazz theme we continue on down into the vaults with a band I featured early on in the days of the blog. The Alex Skolnick Trio, are just that, a Jazz trio with modern takes on Hard Rock classics. Led by current Testament Guitarist Alex Skolnick, the band has been together since '01.

The trio have released four albums so far. Alex is a bit busy of late with Testament, but also with his world music project, Planetary Coalition. Needless to say the Trio isn't really active of late. In any case let's shine a little light onto their '07 release, 'Last Day In Paradise'. This album unlike the previous two features more of the trio's original material as opposed to cover tunes. There are however a couple of covers here though. The classic "Tom Sawyer" from Rush and "Revelation (Mother Earth) from Black Sabbath. And if you wanna get technical there's "Practica Lo Que Predicas" a Latin take on the classic Testament track, "Practice What You Preach". At ten tracks in length this album is really solid and gets you right in the grooves and leaves you wanting some more. For me this breaks the stereotype that Metal Heads can only play one style. Seriously just listen to any Testament record Skolnick plays on and this and you'll have an appreciation for what I believe is a seriously underrated player.

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Against The Grain

Another theme run of the blog has run its course. Hope you enjoyed some of my favorite Live Records from a smattering of artists. In the process of updating the blog I wanted to branch out a little more than I already do with postings. Having a wide variety and selection of music at my disposal is good. Means I'm never bored and pretty much have an album to fit any mood. So with that being said we shift again to a different theme. And this one may lose some people. I've dubbed it "Shit You Wouldn't Expect To Be In My Collection, But Is". In other words, this is going to be a mix of stuff that I actually enjoy and listen to, Metal Head credibility be damned. That said, there will be quite a mix of stuff over the next few weeks to say the least. And tonight we kick it off with some Smooth Jazz.

Up first we have a Smooth Jazz group from England that's been bringing their blend of Smooth Jazz to people since '81. Acoustic Alchemy was formed in London in '81 by a acoustic guitar duo of Simon James and Nick Webb. The band didn't initially find success, in fact both founding members left the band by the 90's. Nevertheless through lineup changes the band did find some mainstream success with a label jump to GRP. The band released a string of albums in the 90's that saw success. One of those being 'Against The Grain'. Released in '94, this album shows off the bands more experimental side with longer tracks. The album at ten tracks clocks in at 53 minutes. While it may be a more experimental sound here, the basis of dueling acoustic guitars remains at the forefront. No further should you look than the title track opener or the fan favorite "Lazeez". Sometimes breaking it down to a couple of acoustic guitars is all you need.
  

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Just Another Band From LA

It's time to say farewell to the Live albums with this post. All things come to an end and hopefully you've relived those classic in concert moments or found a new favorite. In either case we have one more Live album and it's from the bizarre genius Frank Zappa.

Zappa of course was known for his elaborate songs and tongue in cheek humor. He's also known for releasing a massive amount of material, even more so after his passing. Altogether there have been 100 official releases. That's quite a bit. So there's plenty of Live material to choose from. But for this post lets go back to '72 and the classic release 'Just Another Band From LA'. Recorded on August 7, 1971 at UCLA's Pauley Pavilion, the album opens up with the mock rock opera "Billy The Mountain", which pokes fun at the rock opera movement of the time. At a shade under twenty-five minutes, there are plenty of references to Southern California scattered throughout the track. The sad fact is there are another twelve tracks played that not, but never released on LP or CD. In any case this is one of Zappa's better Live albums that was released when he was still alive. So turn it up and get weird.

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Unplugged

One last time for this series, lets revisit a MTV Unplugged performance shall we. And again this is one I swore I had posted earlier in time but I didn't, so with that said lets take a look at 'Unplugged' from Neil Young.

Recorded on February 7, 1993 during the height of Grunge, it seemed logical to let the Godfather Of Grunge to do an Unplugged session. After all Neil has being that for years. This one wasn't without some tension though. The actual released version of this album is the second attempt. Legend has it Neil was unhappy with the way things sounded and everyone's playing in the band. And I'm sure there was some anger directed at MTV. Despite the tension Neil eventually played eighteen tracks in all that night, however four tracks were cut from the release. However there was a treat in all this, an unreleased song in "Stringman". Well the whole album for me is a treat. In all you get a mix of old material, even a Buffalo Springfield track thrown in there, along with some of his newer material from the 'Harvest Moon' record. While the release was cited as average by most critics upon its release, this album stands up to the rest of Neil's Live albums.

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An Acoustic Night At The Theatre

This post is prolly the last dose of Metal you'll get from a while from here. Don't be sad though, there's gonna be some different stuff posted in the coming weeks. In the meantime enjoy a band I can't believe I haven't featured in the past. Within Temptation have been bringing their blend of female fronted metal/rock to the masses since the late 90's. Along with Nightwish, Within Temptation might be the other big name in flying the Symphonic Female Fronted Metal banner. While the band does enjoy success overseas, the band has had some degree of success in the States.

The band has had a history of releasing Live albums as well as concert DVDs for sometime now, but for this post we'll look at 2009's 'An Acoustic Night At The Theatre'. Recorded Live on November 30, 2008 in Eindhoven The Netherlands, this album captures the band stripped down and preforming acoustically. In addition there are a few guests that help out lending some vocals. Former Life Of Agony frontman Keith Caputo guests on "What Have You Done", while former The Gathering singer Anneke VanGiersbergan is featured of "Somewhere". While the album may not be "metal" so to speak, don't discount the quality of the band or the songs, let alone Sharon den Adel's wonderful voice. This is a wonderful Live album through and through.

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Live Alive

It's time to feature some Blues again from an artists that's been profiled here before. And while this is a Live album by standards, there was a lot of overdubbing done in the studio. So it's a hybrid Live record.

Stevie Ray Vaughn was without a doubt one of the best Blues/Rock Guitarists of the last decade. SRV was responsible for influencing a whole new generation of Blues/Rock players like Jonny Lang and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. His life was tragically cut short from an aviation crash, but the music still lives on and still sounds fresh today. 'Live Alive' was the first Live album from SRV and Double Trouble. The albums pulls live material recorded from The Montreux Jazz Festival (July 16, 1985), July 17-18, 1986 at the Austin Opera House, and July 19, 1986 from the Dallas Starfest. SRV pays homage if you will to his influences with the song selection on the album. Covering the likes of Stevie Wonder, Howlin' Wolf, Buddy Guy and Hendrix. The album shows how far SRV had come from just a few years earlier, being a virtual unknown to gaining radio and at the time MTV airplay. SRV's brother Jimmie Vaughn is also featured on a few tracks here, making this a family affair of a Live Album. For those of us who never got a chance to see SRV Live, this is a testament of how well he could tear it up Live.

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On The Road

As we wind down the Live albums theme, I'd be slacking if I didn't feature some Traffic in this mix. Traffic for me was an amazing band who through a short few years in the late 60's and early 70's influenced a huge group of musicians. The band itself could have been seen as an early supergroup as it featured the likes of Steve Winwood, Dave Mason, Chris Wood, and Jim Capaldi. All of which went on to play with a number of other gifted musicians throughout the years.

'On The Road' marked the second Live album from the band. Recorded in April '73 in Germany. The original US release was a single LP effort with some of the tracks cut down. At just six tracks long, the album is somewhat of an extended Jam session. While the playing is spot on, the tracks seem to carry on and have a certain Jam Band quality to them. So much so that the opening tracks "Glad/Freedom Rider" clock in at just under 21 minutes, while the albums closer, "Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys" clocks in at just under 18 minutes, it's easier to label this a Jam album. The band would release one more record in '74 before calling it a day. The band did briefly reunite in '94 for a studio album. There were talks of another reunion after the bands induction into the Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame, but plans were cut short due to the passing of Jim Capaldi. However Steve Winwood continues to tour playing material from his storied career and carrying on the legacy that was Traffic. This is the Double LP rip of the album for those curious. It's the American reissued one that features the tracks in all their glory.

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The Retinal Circus

In the past I've posted some material from the crazy Canuck Devin Townsend. Whether it's his work with SYL or his solo material, there's no doubt the man is further pushing the boundaries as an artists. And what better way to push the envelope than a massive Live Circus if you will.

Recorded at The Roundhouse in London on October 27, 2012, 'The Retinal Circus' captures Devin and his vivid imagination and stellar musicianship. The album is somewhat of a concept record, a story entwined with music from his solo career as well as some SYL for good measure. And what's a circus without guests? How bout Steve Vai as the narrator. Go back in time and recall when Devin played with Vai on his '93 album, 'Sex & Religion'. Also throw in former The Gathering and frequent guest vocalist Anneke Van Giersbergen. Oh and for good measure lets have a mini SYL reunion with Guitarist Jed Simon. Now take all that and stretch it to make a Double Live Album. Oh and a really fantastic DVD. Don't believe me, check out the Preview clip. Simply put this is an album you need to check out to see the range that Devin has, from the goofy Ziltoid to the amazing track "Grace", this is really a work of art.

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