Spotlight on Cleopatra Records
Here we go again! We've sung the praises of Cleopatra Records and their spinoff label Purple Pyramid in this column a couple of times before and they just keep on releasing some of the tastiest music that comes across our desk. Here we present a sampling of some of their recent releases that we really dig.
Powerman 5000 - Abandon Ship
Beloved industrial metal band Powerman 5000 is back with another set of heavy bangers and many fans will hear a semblance to Rob Zombie's style on opening track "Invisible Man," no surprise since Powerman 5000 main man is Spider One who happens to be Rob's brother. Seriously fuzzy bass and a bit of a funky attitude permeate "1999" while "Dancing Like We're Dead" is, appropriately enough, more dance floor than head bang while the dark vibe of "Bloodsuckers" includes the disheartening (and clever) lyric "What goes up/Must come down twice as fast" before adding "Everyone you love will die!" One of the heaviest with the industrial beat is "This is a Life;" the extra catchy "Places for People That Scream" is a ghoulish delight that leads into the eerie album closer "The Last Chapter." As always, good fun from Powerman 5000.
Prog Collective - Dark Encounters
Prog Collective is a project of Yes bassist Billy Sherwood that's been ongoing for a while now and he always assembles a stellar cast of players for his "collective" and here the group delves into the darker side of prog. Sherwood plays bass and keyboards throughout and on some songs adds vocals, drums and guitar; for opening cut "Darkest Hour," a foreboding instrumental, he plays bass, keys and drums while Steve Stevens (Billy Idol's band) adds atmospheric guitar parts. Guitar is the lead instrument on most of the songs here, all of which (except for two covers) were written by Sherwood, with Deep Purple/Kansas/Dixie Dregs guitarist Steve Morse showcasing on "Ominous Signs" and Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (Guns N' Roses) taking his turn in the spotlight on guitar and vocals for "Dark Days" which also features Patrick Moraz and Omar Hakim. Not all is guitar oriented though; David Cross features on violin on the spacey "At the Gates" and while Sherwood plays guitar (and bass and keys) on "Lonely Landscape" the song gurgles with additional bass from Kasim Sulton of Utopia fame. Angel vocalist Frank DiMino handles vocals on the sublime "The Long Night" but instrumental "The Quasi Effect" finds the guest players taking a break while Sherwood plays all instruments. Other guests on the album include John Etheridge, Marco Minneman, Steve Hillage, Greg Bissonette, Todd Sucherman, Joe Bouchard, Pat Mastelotto and Chad Wackerman. Two very cool bonus cuts are appended; a take on Todd Rundgren's "I Saw the Light" featuring Todd and Rick Wakeman and an interpretation of 10cc's "I'm not in Love" by Rick Wakeman and Nektar.
William Shatner - Where Will the Animals Sleep
Shatner has done all kinds of albums in genres ranging from spoken word to blues to prog so it's really no surprise that he has put out an album for children. Or as he puts it in the album's subtitle, "Songs for Kids and Other Living Things."
The effort begins with the bouncy "Elephants and Termites," a charming singalong about how elephants scratch their "itchy butts." "Oh My Honeyguide," about birds that locate honeycombs, has a bit of country twang to its backup track while "7000 Miles on a Non-Stop Flight," about birds named Godwits, has multiple tempo changes and lyrics that kids will love to try and keep up with. And such is the theme here; "Barnacle Bill the Sailor" with its nautical theme and honest description of what barnacles look like ("zits to some") is fun and educational, as everything here is. All songs are written by Shatner with help from Robert Sharenow, Daniel Miller and Marty Beller and all are catchy; the kids will be singing them long after the music stops playing and they'll be stuck in the heads of many an adult too. How can you not love "I'm a Coral See in the Coral Sea," "The Rhino's Guard' and "Secret Agent Whale," likely inspired by the tale of the recently deceased whale that was suspected of spying for the Russians. A nicely illustrated booklet with lyrics is included in the CD package.
The Raveonettes - Sing...
For their latest release the Danish garage rock duo the Raveonettes offer a set of covers by artists whose music has influenced them one way or another. It's a very diverse bunch of songs too, featuring cuts like the sublime "I Love How You Love Me," originally done by the Paris Sisters, the classic psychedelic surf rock of the Cramps' "Goo Goo Muck," the twangy Duane Eddy/Lee Hazelwood "The Girl on Death Row" and one of the all-time great Everly Brothers songs, "All I Have to Do is Dream." More girl group fun comes with a take on the Shirelles hits "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," here done in a very downbeat way, as is the Shangri-Las favorite "Leader of the Pack." No surprise here is the inclusion of the Velvet Underground's "Venus in Furs" since the Velvets are known to be a major influence on the Raveonettes style. Offering further variety are an interpretation of Buddy Holly's "Wishing," the Gram Parsons chestnut "Return of the Grievous Angel" and more twang rock with "Shakin' All Over," originally done by Johnny Kidd & the Pirates and later by an early incarnation of the Guess Who. Bonus tracks include a version of the Who's "The Kids are Alright" and fittingly as a closing track, an ominous take on the Doors' cut "The End."
Various Artists - Punk Me Up: A Tribute to the Rolling Stones, Punk Floyd: A Tribute to Pink Floyd, Reimagining The Court of the Crimson King (King Crimson tribute)
Here's a trio of fun and really well done tribute albums focusing on three huge classic rock groups: the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and King Crimson. Punk Me Up: A Tribute to the Rolling Stones of course begins with a take on "Start Me Up," an especially endearing version done by Jah Wobble and Jon Klein before moving into earlier hits "Mother's Little Helper" by Peter and the Test Tube Babies and "Honky Tonk Women" by the Lee Ving-led Fear who greatly increase the speed on most of the song. Reagan Youth cover "Rocks Off," U.K. Subs and Dead Boys team up for a scathing version of "Paint it Black" and the Queers rock out to "Jumpin' Jack Flash." Also contributing to the punked-up hit parade are J.F.A., Anti Nowhere League, the Vibrators, Flamin' Groovies, Skids, the Members, Chrome, Pink Fairies and Angry Samoans with a totally punk version of "Miss You." Punk Floyd: A Tribute to Pink Floyd has many of the same performers as the Stones tribute: Wobble and Klein put their unique spin on "Time," U.K. Subs punk up "Comfortably Numb," Dead Boys make the lyrics of "Pigs on the Wing" even snottier than the original and include a great Cheetah Chrome guitar solo and Angry Samoans make "Another Brick in the Wall (Part Two) all their own with serious punk leanings. What's really cool here is that many of the bands choose to cover Syd Barrett era Floyd with Fear handling the trippy "Astronomy Domine" while Peter and the Test Tube Babies take a ride on Syd's "Bike," the Queers take on Syd's most famous track "See Emily Play" and MDC rock through the eerie "Lucifer Sam."
Reimagining The Court of the Crimson King is a prog rock delight where big stars of the genre rejigger the King Crimson favorite, beginning with "21st Century Schizoid Man." The cut, with vocals from Todd Rundgren and wacko Arthur Brown really focuses on the schizo as they go berserk with their singing, backed by Mel Collins on sax, Chris Poland on guitar, Ian Paice on drums and Jurgen Engler on guitar, bass and keys. Jakko M. Jakszyk sings the delicate "I Talk to the Wind" with backing from Collins on flute and Django Jakszyk on bass, Pink Fairies and Hawkestrel team up for "Epitaph" with Danny Faulkner on vocals on the Moody Blues-like track, Joe Lynn Turner sings and fronts an all-star band of guitarist Marty Friedman (with awesome Robert Fripp-like licks), bass man Jah Wobble, drummer Chester Thompson and Engler on guitar, bass and keyboards on "Moonchild" and the album's title cut features vocals from James LaBrie with backing from Carmine Appice on drums, Steve Hillage on guitar and once again Engler on bass, guitar and keys. An alternate version of "21st Century Schizoid Man" with only Brown on vocals and with the addition of Brian Auger on keys is appended as is an instrumental version of the song.
The Courettes - Hold On, We're Coming
This duo consisting of Flavia Couri (vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards) and Martin Couri (drums, percussion, backing vocals) offer up a set of covers here where they put their own spin on both well-known and somewhat obscure tracks, all of which they do in a psych/garage rock vein. Among the more familiar tracks are a soulful, garage rocking take on Sam & Dave's "Hold On, I'm Coming," The Association's "Never My Love" with a psych tinge, a Latin-flavored rave up of Jay & the American's "Come a Little Bit Closer," and from this century, an inspired take on Taylor Swift's "Shake it Off." Also included are a cool take on the brassy Grassroots chestnut "Wait a Million Years," the Flamin' Groovies cut "Shake Some Action" and most notably the rocking tribal dance of The Cramps standout "Bikini Girls with Machine Guns." Maybe the most unexpected cover here is a take on "You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory," originally done by the legendary Johnny Thunders, and fans will enjoy dancing and singing to the retro vibe of Joey Dee & the Starliters "Peppermint Twist." The band is often referred to as The Fabulous Courettes and we couldn't agree with that description more.
