Walter Kolosky the writer of Power, Passion and Beauty: The Story of the Legendary Mahavishnu Orchestra, brings us a listener’s guide that leads the reader through the different depths of John McLaughlin’s music. Kolosky’s Follow Your Heart – John McLaughlin Song By Song is written from the author’s subjective experience after listening to 42 of McLaughlin’s albums and analyzing each of the tunes.
“More Than a Feeling,” which took Tom Schultz five years to write, has become Boston’s trademark song, after being released on their self-titled album in 1976. Over the years the song has gained much attention for the band, but it has also been noted for its shared similarities to other classic rock songs, and for songs that came after it which borrowed heavily from this classic track. Most notably, the song’s powerchord riff has been compared to the Kingsmen’s rock n roll track “Louie Louie.” It has also been compared to Elton John’s song “Screw You (Young Man’s Blues) as well as the lesser known track “Walk Away Renee” by the Left Banks.
There is something about Latin Jazz that just feels good, when it’s played well that is. A lot of modern jazz has moved beyond its roots as dance music, pushing the boundaries of harmony and melody in new and exciting directions, but nobody’s going to dance to it. This is why Latin, and Brazilian Jazz for that matter are so much fun to listen to. The top players in these genres know how to keep that deep groove, all while bringing advanced harmonic concepts to the mix. By doing so they not only appeal to folks who like to get up and cut the rug, but also to those who like to be intellectually stimulated when they listen to a jazz record or concert.
It’s early September. Wylde’s home from Ozzfest where he did double duty with Ozzy and Zakk’s own Black Label Society (BLS). Time to rest? Hardly. He’s up at 4 a.m. doing whatever it is he has to do as hard as he can do it. The BLS motto of Strength, Determination, Merciless, Forever is no marketing gimmick. The son of a now 87-year-old WW II D-Day Omaha Beach veteran, combat intensity is in Zakk’s blood.
It isn’t often that a song is known as much for the composer as it is for a band that had a number 1 hit with it, but “Mr. Tambourine Man” is just such a song. Originally written by master folkster Bob Dylan, David Crosby and his band the Byrds would record a cover of the song on their debut record, which would jump all the way to number 1 on the charts and making the group stars in the process. While these two versions are the most well-known, artists as diverse as Judy Collins and even William Shatner have covered the song over the decades, making it one of the most recognizable hits of the ‘60s.
One of the most iconic rock’ n’ roll bands in history, Motörhead, is out touring the US to celebrate the band’s 35th anniversary and the release their new studio album The Wörld is Yours. This latest release sold 7,000 copies in US in its first week to land at No. 94 on The Billboard 200 chart, and to-date has sold over 100,000 copies, an achievement Lemmy was proud to point out during an interview prior to the show, saying it was the bands best-selling CD yet.
In true Billy Idol fashion, the singer was initially inspired to write his hit song “Rebel Yell,” which is featured on the album of the same name, after seeing members of the Rolling Stones drinking out of a bottle of Bourbon, which was aptly named Rebel Yell. Idol, who liked the Bourbon, took it upon himself to write a song in dedication to the whisky, forever immortalizing that night spent with the Stones. The song was co-written by Idol’s guitarist Steve Stevens, who came up with a classic into that remains to this day as one of the finest of the era.
Inspired by the classical guitar piece “Bouree in E Minor” by J.S. Bach, “Blackbird” is one of the finest guitar moments in the Beatles long and storied history. After Paul McCartney and George Harrison first learned the Bach piece as a “show off” song, McCartney would later experiment with the song’s opening chords, leading him to write the guitar part for “Blackbird.” The song would appear on the White Album, which many consider of the band’s best records, and was originally performed by McCartney out of his window for waiting fans on the first night that his then girlfriend Linda Eastman stayed at his house.
Australian guitarist, Tommy Emmanuel, has gifted the world with some of the finest acoustic guitar playing to adorn the planet. He’s an itinerate touring musician who sparkles on stage with his ability to caress, cajole and occasionally slap beautiful acoustic arrangements out of his beat up Maton guitars. Emmanuel captivates his audiences with his humorous patter, world-class guitar playing and the percussive antics he unleashes on his six-strings.
Though its roots can be traced back to Folk music in America, the song “House of the Rising Sun” is most closely associated with the British Invasion group the Animals. The band first heard the song in a local club and shortly after chose to play it while on tour with rock legend Chuck Berry so that they would have something other than the standard fare in their set. Little did they know that this little choice would lead them down the path to rock stardom, that are now considered one of the most important British bands of their, or any, era.
