The Vapor’s first performance in New York City since 1981 was a huge success. The concert which held at the Mercury Lounge in Manhattan on Friday 19^th October through to Sunday 21^st October was made feasible by crowdfunding efforts of interested stakeholders. The band is looking to do a more extensive North American tour very soon. The last show on the Sunday was truly glorious. Kicking off the show on October 21^st was the excellent group called The Split Squad. This band is made up of experienced and talented musicians. Eddie Munoz, the renowned guitarist and Keith Streng with the Plimsouls and The Fleshstones respectively. Clem Burke, the excellent drummer from Blondie was also part of the group. Michael Giblin, the bassist with Parallax Project and Josh Kantor, the keyboardist for Big Jim’s Ego and The Baseball project. All of these people came together to deliver a truly excellent show. They played for 45 minutes and the crowd enjoyed every bit of it. They are well knit outfit and they complement each other exceedingly well. Fans close to the stage had their eyes on them all through the show as they didn’t know when Streng would spontaneously jump off the stage unto the floor to rock his guitar. The Split squad kicked off their set with a wonderful version of “Superman Says” which was originally written with Scott McCaughey and is included in their first album Now Hear This. They followed this with a performance of Hey DJ which was a criticism of what radio has turned out to be. This song will be on their next project. All of the songs that The Split Squad performed on the day just highlighted how closed knit and tight they all are and how well they work together. The Vapors are known for their 1980 hit single “Turning Japanese” and they were discovered by The Jam’s bassist Bruce Foxton. Foxton eventually co managed the band with John Weller. The Vapor had two albums that were packed with the band’s style of sharp and spiky pop. One in 1980 titles New Clear Days and the other in 1981 titled Magnets. The band eventually went their separate ways in 1981 and got back together in 2016. Dave Fenton, singer, songwriter and guitarist was a part of the reunion alongside Steve Smith, bassist, Ed Bazalgette, guitarist, and Micheal Bowes, drummer. The original drummer in the group, Howard Smith turned down the opportunity to be a part of the reunion. Bazalgette was also indisposed as he had other commitments so Dave Fenton’s son, Dan Fenton took up the role of the lead guitarist. The Vapors performed before a screen where the band logo was projected and they kicked off proceedings with their highly anticipated set with the bass heavy version of “Bunkers”. Dan Fenton made his mark immediately as the lead guitarist. Following this performance was the “Live At The Marquee” which had beautiful guitar interplay between the Fentons. A host of other hit songs were performed subsequently that had the crowd in very good spirits. The Vapors are set to return to their native UK where they will be performing in November and December in places such as Criccieth, Margate, Lewes, Southampton and London. They also have an event set for March at the O2 Kentish Town Forum in London. You can get information on their live schedule from their official Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TheVaporsOfficial.

Pennan Brae’s music is loaded with the 1970s shade, which is driven by the roaming pedal steel guitar. His 4th album, ‘The Astronot’, with its 11 songs serves as a soundtrack for the sequel film, ‘The Astronot.’ Apart from being the writer and co-producer, Pennan also acted in ‘The Astronot.’ Biography “Shoot for the moon and if you miss you will still be among the stars” Pennan Brae is a singer/songwriter. He is based in Vancouver. His life exemplifies the above quote. As an artist, he decided to take unusual risks during the makings of his fourth album and the results were a surprising fulfillment of his aspirations. He created an incredible career for himself, not only in music but as a rounded independent artist in the entertainment industry. Brae looks back to his past and says “As a kid, I was fascinated by pictures of the planets, solar system and galaxies.” He continues that, “The space picture books of the 1970s really captured this. It was the tail end of the NASA moon landing missions and there were so many books for kids to read. The color of the pages and pictures; I don’t know what was in their ink, but the illustrations seemed so majestic.” This was the mindset that later birth ‘The Astronot’. It is the beginning of another idea. We’ll get to that later. The film was produced mainly in Blue Light Studio in Vancouver by Producer Kaj Falch-Nielsen. Other additional sessions was filmed in Los Angeles with renowned drummer Steve Ferrone. In retrospect, Brae says “Hearing Steve Ferrone lay down the drums and Garry Gary Beers adding bass on “Walk with Me” and “Crashland” is the highlight of my career. When I was younger, I used to watch Steve drum on Eric Clapton’s 24 Nights at the Royal Albert Hall, which I had on VHS. With Garry, I was a big INXS fan in high school. They are an original band with an original sound and one of the all-time greats.” Composer and producer Eric Alexandrakis served as a mentor and one of the producers on THE ASTRONOT, and it was he who brought in Steve and Garry. “Working with Steve and Garry is such an honor. These are my musical heroes, it still hasn’t fully sunk in that I had the chance to record with them.” Just like most of the books Pennan read as a child, ‘The Astronot’ has a touch of the 70s. Aside from the ear-worm worthy tracks arising from incredible guest performers and deft instrumentation that dominate ‘The Astronot,’ there’s something else to the music. It births the idea that finally led to the making of a feature length movie, also tagged THE ASTRONOT. The music serves as the soundtrack to the movie. ‘The Astronot’ brought the progressive change and opportunity that Pennan Brae had been craving. “This release is special because it represents growth. We tried many different arrangements and recorded with different instruments and musicians. It certainly feels like a departure from my earlier three albums. My goal was to write an album instead of a group of separate singles. I wanted this record to flow from song 1 to song 10, and I think we did that. I hope that listeners enjoy hearing it unfold,” he concluded.

It is a common believe that masterpiece album such as this would knock off one star. After all, we are no longer in 1973. However, Uriah Heep’s ‘Living the Dream’ defies all odds. The album delivers an almost evangelical show of classic prog metal with no weak links at any of the corners. In fact, the bass and drums (the youth contingent), killer Hammond-mad keys, smiling Buddha guitar or, hardest to maintain, vocals and front duties, were classic performances against the rules of physics. This might sound unbelievable, but I had to resist the one-star docking due to the fact that the band’s go beyond live shows to indicate that the electric chemistry that’s all over Living the Dream is real. Thus, Living the Dream, the band’s 25th album in 49 years of existence, exhibits a collective demonstrations on fire and in tune with their base as showcased in the band’s over 125 shows a year, thereby providing global inspiration. There are numerous comparisons. Foremost, producer Jay Ruston (Black Star Riders, Stone Sour, Winery Dogs, Europe) was able to capture the band lively, high-fidelity and old school within that fidelity. Yet, without any distractions from the purity of the instrumentation, which was the only output with the use of a half dozen keyboard directives from Phil Lanzon, including a similar mélange from guitarist Mick Box, who is an original member and anchor of the band. Meanwhile, there are certain spirited jams, which may exist for back half of the eight minute-long “Rocks in the Road” — which mirrors the live events by Heep dubbed “The Magician’s Birthday,” as well as the most pertinent, raucous, and relentless drums from Russell Gilbrook. Today, I can boldly say, Gilbrook is the modern-day Heep. He’s the force driving his cohorts to excel. He regularly whacks double bass with a constant shower of crash cymbals which functions as rides. Classically, he tears off a “Hot for Teacher” shuffled deep in the sequence to deliver “Goodbye to Innocence,” a fast-pacing Purple party blues that injects a new dimension into a record known to be stuffed with the band’s soul-replenishing Yes-like positivity and choruses filled with sublime hooks for miles. All these pointed to the fact that all those Purple comparisons will linger on. Though, that’s no slag. The two bands are still waxing strong with more great records, even in recent times. It’s all about one guitar battling with a grinding Hammond, progressively, with note-density as well as circular logic and resolution. If you add a little Kansas, with Led Zeppelin, Rainbow as well as massive reverence to classic, Heep moments such as “Easy Livin’” and “July Morning,” inclusive of what we get with “Living the Dream” will pass as an album that can be considered the strongest of the fine spread starting with the 1995’s Sea of Light return. This comes after a couple wobblers in Raging Silence and Different World, which are Bernie’s first two with the band. Sure, it was a sweet suite, but there’s a uniqueness about Living the Dream that makes the band to keep putting aside any of their recent technological or stylistic nods into it to make it timeless.

Johnny Marr was on a tour to promote his great third solo album, Call The Comet and on October 15^th, at the New York City Irving Plaza, he sold out a truly great show. Marr was accompanied by his excellent band made up of James Doviak playing the guitars and keyboards, Iwan Gronow with the bass and vocals and Jack Mitchell with the drums. They all came together to perform for 100 glorious minutes and the house was very excited. The show kicked off with a powerful version of “The Tracers” from the latest album that featured Mitchel and his drums and Marr with his stellar voice. Following the next song was Marr’s excellent guitar work and The Smiths’ “Bigmouth Strikes Again” which had the crowd in an uproar. The single “New Dominions” was a bit edgy on the latest album due to the fact that its synth driven with a Kraftwerk vibe. It plays out beautifully live and it features Mitchell and his drums and Marr with his excellent voice. Another single titled Hi Hello is the latest one from Call The Comet and it got a nice performance that was again highlighted by Marr’s stellar guitar skills. The crowd went wild when Marr and his gang completely bodied The Smiths’ “The Headmaster Ritual” and this was a big highlight of the show. The single “Walk into the Sea” followed next and it was graced by excellent work by Marr on the guitar and Doviak on the keyboards. Gronow’s bass brought a solid foundation for an excellent and electric performance on Electronics’ “Getting away with it”. The band performed a quality performance of the song as the crowd roared in enjoyment of the show. The spotlight was redirected to the rotating mirror ball on the ceiling of Irving Plaza and this lit up the venue in a spinning reflection. It was quite beautiful and this was another big highlight of the show. Marr and his gang then played the hit “Hey Angel” from the new album and they did justice to it Following a brief intermission, Marr and his gang got back to stage and started with the encore with an intense performance of “Rise” from the new album. This song Marr had started writing when he was in New York City just two days following Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential race of 2016. The song is against the right wing and it opens up with the lyrics “Now here they come/ it’s the dawn of the dogs….” The crowd enjoyed it. The encore came to a close with three songs from The Smith Catalog. Marr introduced Kevin Drew from the Canadian band Broken Social Scene to the stage to help with the vocals on “Please Please Please Let ME Get What I Want.” Marr and his gang performed brilliantly and the crowd loved every bit of it. Marr has taken a lead role after the tours to support the three solo albums and he and his current band have become very close and work together as a unit.

It is plain as day that Electric Light Orchestra had their own share of mishaps over the years but you need not be an avid observer to appreciate some of their genius. This you can see even from their singles. Their work from 1972 – 1978 has been put in a collection comprised of 16 box set. This collection is named The UK Singles Volume One 1972-78 (legacy). This collection imitates the labels and packaging of all of ELO’s greatest hits. ELO set the bar very high in the studio and it is through their work that we see the genius that Jeff Lynee truly is. At their peak, ELO churned out hits that resonated with the listeners immensely. Every single gently recreates its decades old counterparts with a clean press and sound. If you somehow can’t get enough from the first 15 discs, then you can go to the sixteenth which gives you the 1978 EP. When you add the sturdy box to store them, then you’re all set. Two fresh albums by Crystal Jacqueline come up. This release is new even as long time avid listeners will definitely recognize a lot of the content. Carefully packaged to imitate the old trademark of quality bootleg LP, Crystal Jacqueline Live was created at the Sonic Rock Solstice Festival in 2017. This was a collection of 8 songs that doesn’t feel anything like a bootleg with its perfect packaging and sound quality. As for Fruits de Mer, this year will be the tenth year since the little label was created and The Three Seasons is a carefully put together recreation of the golden age of psych from 1966 to 1968.this is evident in the 27 brands and songs. Included in the release is a few names that some people might not have seen before. There’s a fresh Hawkind album out and it isn’t like anything you’ve heard before. So we can have faith anew in the old brand name by looking back in time about 5 decades back to the Space Ritual tour of 1972 and a fresh look of the Brixton Sundown concert at the close of the outing. Originally released in various guises but most popularly Space Ritual 2, it now comes out as Victim of Sonic Attack, two clear vinyl discs packed in a bright red cloth bag. It is a very good looking artifact and these are probably the best of the tapes out there. They sound glorious and probably better than any CD can ever sound. Similarly when you consider vintage status, Pink Fairies are also back in contention this time with the new album. The original guitarist Paul Rudolph is the sole bearer of the Pink Fairy flag with the ex-Hawkind bassist Alan Davey and Motorhead co-founder Lucas Fox making up the group. Resident Reptiles (Cleopatra) is probably the finest work from the Fairies and this a completely rock and roll sound. It is great to see that neither time nor space changed Paul Rudolph’s sound.

If Charles Bradley – the Screaming Eagle of Soul – were still alive, he would have turned 70 years old on Nov. 5. Sadly, the raspily voiced soul singer — born Charles Edward Bradley in Gainesville, Fla. — died from cancer last year. In celebration of his amazing life, Black Velvet collects ten songs recorded during the sessions from each of his previous three albums, heard here together for the very first time. Bradley was a transcendent singer who overcame adversity to achieve international success and acclaim very late in his life. The story of Bradley’s rise from the depths of poverty and violence surfaced in Bradley’s autobiographical songs throughout the years (“Why Is It So Hard,” and “Heartaches & Pain”). In Poull Brien’s 2012 documentary Charles Bradley: Soul of America, we got a glimpse into how Bradley turned pain and sadness into joy and love, and music that always touched his fans hearts and souls. I had the pleasure of experiencing the love and passion of Bradley closely when he appeared several times on World Cafe over the years. He was always grateful and gracious. In July 2017, he performed at WXPN’s XPoNential Music Festival, and I had the joy of working with Bradley closely when I was on stage producing the show. During a break in the set, as he walked off stage for a costume change, I could sense he was feeling a little weak. As he was getting ready to go back on stage, I asked him how he was and he turned to me and said, “I’m fine, brother. I got the love. If you don’t got love, you don’t got nothing. And it starts right here,” he said, touching his chest where his heart was with his fist. He then grabbed me and gave me one of the warmest, most heartfelt hugs I’ve ever received. He proceeded to finish the show in a blaze of glory, jumping into the audience, handing out roses and hugging the fans, as he typically did during his shows. Little did I know then that he would be gone two months later. “Black Velvet” was the name Bradley used when he was working as a James Brown impersonator. What he learned from the Godfather of Soul was visceral, touching and funky. Bradley had the dance moves, the howls, the yelps, the songs, and the screams, but he turned them into his own with a remarkable, singular voice. Black Velvet, the album, continues to travel down the same road of soul love that Charles Bradley began on his 2011 debut. Songs like “Can’t Fight the Feeling” (originally recorded in 2007), “Fly Little Girl” (featuring Bradley on organ) and the heart-wrenching “I Feel a Change” speak to the essence of his spirit. A duet with LaRose Jackson on “Luv Jones” drops hard like a funk bomb. The powerful electric version of “Victim of Love,” featuring The Sha La Das, works as a spiritual cousin to Barbara Mason’s 1965 R&B hit “Yes I’m Ready,” and when Charles Bradley hits his singular scream at around the 3:40 spot in the song, you’ll know why he has earned his title as the Screaming Eagle of Soul. Another highlight on the album is the tender “(I Hope You Find) The Good Life.” On it, Bradley consoles the sadness and pain he has over a lover he needs to let go of, and sings: “When you are near me like this, I find it hard to resist / So go away little girl, before I beg you to stay,” he moans. This is a different side of Charles Bradley’s soul. He could do it all. The album is peppered with three covers. Nirvana’s “Stay Away” is from a recording he made for Spin’s 25th anniversary tribute to Nevermind. He transforms Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold” into a stirring horn driven pop-soul nugget. Also included is a cover of “Slip Away” by the singer-songwriter Rodriguez, of whom Charles was a fan. Charles Bradley had boundless love and talent. Black Velvet is a testimony to his beauty and spirit, a final love letter to his fans. It’s a perfect ten-song soul send off from one of the greats.