Jaime Ospina, working with a powerful group of musicians for five days in the Lechehouse Music studios in Buda, Texas, produced a challenging and innovative album, ‘The Vessel,’ which is available now on Bandcamp. Ospina, a founding member of the group Superfonicos, enlisted Grupo Fantasma member Beto Martinez to engineer and mix these ten engaging […]
Fernando Perdomo’s Wave series of albums keeps coming out, and this month’s release, ‘Waves 5,’ is no exception. It’s another deep dive into the producer, songwriter, and guitarist’s musical treasure trove. The album starts with “Meditation For Jesse Gress,” an electric sitar-driven track that pays tribute to the late Todd Rundgren guitarist. Perdomo uses vintage-sounding […]
I know I should quit my bitching. I was excited by the prospect of live recordings from the Steely Dan band featuring Donald Fagen and jazzed to hear the ultimate Fagen album, 1982’s Nightfly, recreated by this crack group and fantastic singers. Sure, I would have preferred a recording from Fagen’s current band, the Nightflyers, or […]
Part of the joy attached to the new reissue of China Crisis’ 1985 album Flaunt the Imperfection is the inclusion of so much bonus material. The expanded version not only includes the near-perfect Walter Becker-produced (and newly remastered) 10 song album, but also an extra disc of demos, remixes and live recordings from the Janice Long radio […]
Yes, I love Donald Fagen. Yes, I love The Nightfly, but I’d rather listen to the album that beat it for album of the year, Toto IV. Why such sacrilege? The Nightfly sounds too much like Steely Dan. Yes, that’s great – and, I guess, how could it not? That being said, Fagen’s second solo effort, the Top 10 […]
Former model Rosie Vela jumped into music in a big way here, enlisting Gary Katz as her producer. The result is a release with a decidedly ’80s feel. Vela also wrote or co-wrote all nine songs, which are hooky and quirky at the same time. “Magic Smile” features Donald Fagen and Walter Becker on synthesizer, […]
:“The Horses,” written by Rickie Lee Jones and her Flying Cowboys producer, Walter Becker, is one of my favorite songs. But Jones’s fourth LP is graced with many high points. Geffen Records, her record label then, had high hopes for this project; the plan was for Becker to restore Jones to platinum success. While that […]
CHINA CRISIS – DIARY OF A HALLOW HORSE (1989): China Crisis always had a knack of obtuse lyrics. When he hooked up with Steely Dan’s Walter Becker for their third album, Flaunt the Imperfection, he added a needed sophistication element, enhancing their lyrical bite. Becker returned to produce their fifth album, bumping up their game to another new […]
Hot on the heels of his fantastically insightful book, Steely Dan FAQ comes Anthony Robustelli’s interpretation of Steely Dan songs. If you’ve picked up his book, you’ll undoubtedly know he’s a true authority on Steely Dan, with insightful analysis and research. The Steely Dan Sessions is anything but antiseptic – or even predictable. While there are other sources for […]
Listening to Ben Craven’s prior album, Last Chance To Hear, nearly endangered my driver’s license. No surprise, then, that the album made my year-end ten list, with its big picture prog-rock vision and Craven’s spot-on execution. Recently, Craven released a recording of his record release party for the album and a Blu-ray/DVD called First Chance To Hear, which also […]
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