Keith Emerson Band Featuring Marc Bonilla
Moscow
Varese Sarabande (302 067 050 2)
Grade: 4

By Michael Popke

The three members of Emerson, Lake & Palmer have each reinterpreted that seminal progressive band’s catalog using hotshot guitarists in their own solo outfits. While Greg Lake and Carl Palmer opted for young axe slingers, Keith Emerson anointed weathered journeyman Marc Bonilla (Toy Matinee, Glenn Hughes) as lead guitarist and Lake-like vocalist.

Filmed in Russia in 2008 with 5.1 surround sound prior to the release of the Keith Emerson Band Featuring Marc Bonilla’s eponymous album, this 15-song performance rocks, breathing new life into such ELP classics as “Karn Evil 9,” “Lucky Man” and “Tarkus.” The quartet also unexpectedly tosses in “Touch and Go” from the short-lived Emerson, Lake & Powell, plus a handful of new songs.

Emerson sets up shop with his gigantic Moog in the same corner of the stage he occupied with ELP, but he’s not quite as crazy as he used to be. He even lets Bonilla cut loose on guitar every now and then.

Erik Norlander. Photo by Neal Hamilton

By Michael Popke

Keyboardist/producer Erik Norlander, perhaps best known for his band (Rocket Scientists) and his wife (vocalist Lana Lane), also plays in Asia Featuring John Payne. He has collaborated with science-fiction writer Kevin J. Anderson for a project called Roswell Six and toured or recorded with — among others — Joe Lynn Turner, James LaBrie, Glenn Hughes, Tony Franklin and Vinny Appice. So it’s no surprise that Norlander’s musical tastes are decidedly “progressive.”

Electric Light Orchestra: “Time”
This album introduced me to the idea of an album production combining synthesizers with pianos, a string section and a rock band, and then mixing phase shifters, echoes and reverb machines as a dominant force in the music. Although I don’t think this was much of a commercial hit, I consider this to be Jeff Lynne’s finest production.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer: “Pictures At An Exhibition”
This was my introduction to the idea of “lead keyboards” in a rock band. What an amazing live album, with all the ephemeral aspects of a great live show, including even some out-of-tune (and out-of-control) modular Moog bits. So much great energy and personality from all three musicians.

Yes: “Tales from Topographic Oceans”
I loved the albums of Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze and Kitaro growing up, but this was the first ROCK album that demonstrated the concept of “unhurried” music: two LPs, one song per side. They’re taking their time with each piece, and it’s brilliant. This album apparently drove Rick Wakeman out of the band. Too bad, because I think this is Yes at their peak.

Rainbow: “Difficult to Cure”
Don Airey’s keyboard work in a hard-rock/heavy-metal setting was both inventive and masterful. His CS-80 solo on “Spotlight Kid” still ranks as one of my favorite keyboard moments. Joe Lynn Turner, following in the footsteps of previous Blackmore vocalists Ian Gillan, David Coverdale and Ronnie James Dio, brought a more-modern sound to the band and kept all of the fire, energy and fury from the previous vocalists. Rondinelli, Glover and Blackmore’s performances are fantastic also, but you already knew that.

Supertramp: “Crime of the Century”
Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” is an amazing album, but I think the award for “Audiophile Production of the ’70s” must go to “Crime of the Century.” Ken Scott’s production is clean and crisp in a way that sounds 20 years ahead of its time while still retaining the warmth and mood of a ’70s big-budget analog recording. Check out the multi-tracked pianos and electric pianos.

Rush: “A Farewell to Kings”
The standout album for the power trio of my generation. There was, of course, Cream about 10 years earlier. But Rush added some more modern elements, such as synthesizers, bass pedals and orchestral percussion, along with writing some very compelling long-form songs that do not come off as indulgent — but rather the right length for what they had to say.

UK: “Danger Money”
The first UK album was amazing, too, but “Danger Money” took the best of the band and condensed it into a power trio with new powerhouse drummer Terry Bozzio — an incredible prog drummer who apparently doesn’t consider himself “prog.” Eddie Jobson’s keyboard and violin work are astounding. The music is progressive, but not at the expense of great, memorable songwriting.

Blue Oyster Cult: “Secret Treaties”
Space rock done well! The band clearly had lots of classic-rock influences, from Clapton to Black Sabbath. But the science fiction element takes the music to another place. It’s no wonder they had so many successful collaborations with legendary sci-fi writer Michael Moorcock (also of Hawkwind!) on future albums.

Deep Purple: “Machine Head”
Rock historians will go back further than this, but I consider Machine Head to be the first proper heavy-metal album. Grinding Hammond organ with wide vibrato blues guitar, kinetic, figure-laden drumming with purposefully heavy-placed bass grooves create the formula for hundreds (thousands?) of albums to follow. Ian Gillan’s dramatic, wide vibrato vocals are the perfect crown to a royal rock classic.

The Alan Parsons Project: “I Robot”
A phenomenal production, again with skillful use of phase shifters and reverb effects, where keyboards and synthesizers mingle seamlessly with rock-band instruments and a real orchestra. Great and varied vocals, great songs, and a concept album without being too specific or heavy handed.
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By Carol Anne Szel

Carl Palmer truly embodies the show that never ends.  This legendary Asia and ELP drummer is heading out on tour this October and November in what is billed as “Carl Palmer & His Band – Celebrates The Music of Emerson Lake & Palmer.”   Bringing some of the classic instrumental ELP sounds arranged  with what his website calls a “bold” new stance, Carl Palmer will present a musical trio, sans vocalist,  of guitarist Paul Bielatowicz and bassist Simon Fitzpatrick on his first big solo tour in four years.

A while back I had the chance to catch up with Carl Palmer to ask him his thoughts about the past, present, and future of music.

How has the music industry changed over the years?
Carl Palmer: I think the media has completely changed. Radio is completely different in this country. If you want music, you can go straight to the Internet and download tunes or whatever you want. So the whole thing has changed rapidly.

What is live performance like today as opposed to back then?
CP: I think live performance is different now for most artists. I think people of our demographic like to be in a place where they can actually see the band instead of watching videos. So we have that to deal with. And then on the younger side, I’m sure there’s still a reasonable amount of people interested in bands playing big stadiums, who can watch a show for a couple of hours. It just seems to have changed radically, though, because there’s not as much of that happening as there used to be. I think for live performance and recording, the media has just changed. The media being sort of the governing body of it all. What gets played on the radio is very important, of course. Radio is still very strong, but it’s not as varied as it used to be. So we haven’t got that vehicle intact as much as we’d like anymore.

It seems as if an artist has to already have a hit to even be played on mainstream radio these days.
CP: That’s it, really. It is like that, and that’s very, very difficult. By the time it is a hit and people go out and play and do whatever they’ve got to do, they’ve not really perfected their craft. And their shows really aren’t that good. They have to have the smoke screen and the dancers. So there’s not the training ground there used to be. It’s all very quick. Careers come and go in a flash, and that’s the way it is.

Do you feel image plays a big role?
CP: Absolutely. Even CDs don’t have the impact from an art point of view. CDs are small; you don’t get the same kickback from it as if you were sitting looking at an album sleeve, which is fairly big and you can enjoy. We’ve now got videos. But where there’s a plus there’s a minus, and that’s the way it goes.

ELP were groundbreakers with their live show. You really set the bar high.
CP: I think we crossed a lot of boundaries at the time. Obviously we were trying to sort of play music that was new. We tried to involve technology as much as possible. We crossed all of that over with eventually going out with an orchestra and expressing the music that way. I think we were always trying. I think the art, the musicality that we produced, the standard remained high.

And today?
CP: We still have three tracks in the FM rock radio, however you want to call it, the Top 500, we still have three tracks there that are played on a regular basis. So that’s quite good. The music is still played and still heard, so it’s really good.

THE CARL PALMER BAND – ON TOUR – 2010

Tue 10/12/10      Hamilton, ON Canada      Studio At Hamilton Place
Wed 10/13/10     Toronto, ON Canada     Lula Lounge
Thu 10/14/10     Montreal, QC Canada     Gesu Theatre
Fri 10/15/10     Londonderry, NH     Tupelo Music Hall
Sat 10/16/10     Foxboro, MA     Showcase Live
Sun 10/17/10     Lakewood, NJ     Strand Center For The Arts
Tue 10/19/10     New York, NY     B.B. King Blues Club
Wed 10/20/10     Glenside, PA     Keswick Theatre
Thu 10/21/10     Annapolis, MD     Rams Head On Stage
Fri 10/22/10     Rockville, MD     Robert Parillia Performing Arts Ctr
Sat 10/23/10     Cleveland, OH     Beachland Ballroom & Tavern
Sun 10/24/10     Detroit, MI     Jazz Cafe at Music Hall
Tue 10/26/10     Indianapolis, IN     Slippery Noodle Inn
Wed 10/27/10     Chicago, IL     Reggie’s Live
Thu 10/28/10     Milwaukee, WI     Shank Hall
Fri 10/29/10     St. Charles, IL     Arcadia Theatre
Sat 10/30/10     Iowa City, IA     Englert Theatre
Tue 11/02/10     Denver, CO     Soiled Dove Underground
Thu 11/04/10     Park City, UT     The Star Bar
Sat 11/06/10     Petaluma, CA     McNears Mystic Theatre
Tue 11/09/10     San Diego, CA     Brick By Brick
Thu 11/11/10     Agoura Hills, CA     Canyon Club
Fri 11/12/10     Santa Ana, CA     Galaxy Concert Theatre
Sat 11/13/10     Las Vegas, NV     Cannery Casino Hotel
Sun 11/14/10     Phoenix, AZ     The Compound Grill

By Todd Whitesel

There was a long-running U.S. commercial for StarKist, where a tuna fish named Charlie tried to impress the higher-ups with his intellect and charm. His efforts were shot down with the tag line, “Starkist doesn’t want tuna with good taste. Starkist wants tuna that tastes good.”

In my mind, that idea also applies to audio recordings. There are numerous “test” records and “demonstration” discs recorded solely to impress with sonics that often have no real basis in melody or music. They may be cool collectibles, but I have no interest in records or discs that sound great but lack musical meaning.

The writing on the wall for high-res formats, such as SACD and DVD-Audio, seems more indelible with each passing month. Any new SACD releases — and there are plenty — are overwhelmingly devoted to classical music, and DVD-Audio is being replaced largely by Blu-ray. This means several high-res rock, blues and jazz releases have gone out of print and are now commanding prices three to four times (or more) than their initial MSRP. That makes acquiring many of the best-sounding discs a costly enterprise, assuming you have a machine capable of SACD and/or DVD-Audio playback.

The good news is that players such as Oppo’s BDP-80 can be had for less than $300 and handle all your disc needs, save for Blu-ray. As well, many of the best-sounding digital recordings remain in print. Here are 10 recommended high-res digital releases that not only have good sound but good music.

Miles Davis, “Kind Of Blue” (SACD)
Now out of print, but if you’re going to drop $50 or more on a jazz disc, this is where to start.

Davis’ incalculably influential album starts with little more than a whisper as Paul Chambers plucks acoustic bass, followed by Bill Evans’ angular piano lines, building until Davis enters with horn and the arrangement takes off. “Kind Of Blue” is a recording that makes you glad to be alive and even more so with an excellent SACD mix.

Allman Brothers Band, “Eat A Peach” (SACD)
What’s better than 33 minutes and 41 seconds of “Mountain Jam”? The same tune coming at you in high-res 5.1 surround, with the swirl of Butch Trucks’ and Jaimoe’s drums punctuated by Berry Oakley’s bass grooves and Gregg Allman’s organ chords, all while Dickey Betts and Duane Allman unleash searing guitar lines that seem to emerge from the amps themselves.

Jackson Browne, “Running On Empty” (DVD-Audio)
Browne’s classic live album was reissued in 2005 as a CD/DVD-Audio pairing. Even if you’ve heard this record a hundred times, you’ll discover something new on the superb DVD-Audio mix, whether the two-channel, 24-bit/192kHz version or the 24/96 surround mix.

Bob Dylan, “Blood On The Tracks” (SACD)
These performances are among the most passionate and aching of Dylan’s career. Listen to the strain and emotion in his voice, drenched with regret, on tracks such as “If You See Her, Say Hello” for the most personal look into this most personal album.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer, “Brain Salad Surgery” (DVD-Audio)
I bought this and a handful of other DVD-Audio discs during a retailer’s close-out sale, and I’m glad I did, as this release really opened my ears to what DVD-Audio could do. The high-res remaster brings out the smallest details in every song. What startled me most, though, was hearing Greg Lake’s guitar pick strike each individual string as he arpeggiates chords on “Still… You Turn Me On.”

Elton John, “Tumbleweed Connection” (SACD)
If one artist has benefited the most from getting the SACD treatment on his catalog, it’s Elton John. Six of his classic albums — “Elton John,” “Tumbleweed Connection,” “Madman Across The Water,” “Honky Chateau,” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” and “Captain Fantastic & The Brown Dirt Cowboy” — have been reissued on SACD, and they all sound terrific. “Tumbleweed” contains the fewest hits of the lot, but the Old West themes and arrangements are some of John’s and lyricist Bernie Taupin’s best works.

The two bonus tracks, “Into The Old Man’s Shoes” and original version of “Madman Across The Water” are as good, if not better, than anything John ever recorded.

Pink Floyd, “Dark Side Of The Moon” (SACD)
This venerable sonic adventure is taken to new and intimate heights on SACD. From the opening heartbeats of “Speak To Me/Breathe” to the final words spoken after “Eclipse,” this Moon is magnificent.

The Who, “Tommy” (SACD)
Want to invite Keith Moon over but don’t want to clean up after? Give “Tommy” a spin in multichannel SACD, and it’s like bringing the incomparable drummer and his kit right into your listening room. Roger Daltrey’s and Pete Townshend’s vocals are brilliantly served, too.

Porcupine Tree, “Deadwing “(DTS DVD-Audio)
Porcupine Tree mastermind Steven Wilson has long championed music in surround, and this 2005 release serves up plenty of around-the-room goodies, lush and lovely, savage and bleak. The high-res stereo (48/96) mix is just a warm-up for the stunning 5.1 mix. Hearing the monumental “Arriving Somewhere But Not Here,” with its android-like opening funneling through alternative and proggy seas before being bludgeoned by one of the nastiest guitar riffs in history — in surround — is best experienced loud… very loud.

Steely Dan, “Gaucho” (SACD or DVD-Audio)
It’s no secret that Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen and Walter Becker were studio perfectionists, demanding retake after retake until the results were like polished jade. “Gaucho” often takes jabs for being “too” polished, but I’ll take the horn-driven shine of the title track or the dark tint of “Third World Man” in their high-res beauty.