HIGH BIAS -- August 5, 2001 -- Robert Cray, David Menconi, Blackmore's Night, Tom Freund, Fred Koller, TheBrotherEgg, Miles Davis, John Coltrane

Album reviews of new music by:

Blackmore's Night: Former Deep Purple/Rainbow guitarist Ritchie Blackmore forms a band with his significant other Candice Night in order to perform the music he really loves: a mixture of rock, Germanic folk and Renaissance airs. (more)
Tom Freund: The former jazz bassist writes melodic, flexible songs that pick apart his characters' relationships like a lonely entomologist dissects a rare butterfly, with both the joy of discovery and a hint of malice. (more)
Fred Koller: Songs Koller co-wrote with his late buddy Shel Silverstein over the course of their 30-odd year friendship. (more)
thebrotheregg: Portland quintet thebrotheregg specializes in the kind of dreamy, casual psychedelia of the Elephant 6 crowd... (more)
Amplifier Select: Tracks 1.0: The Massachusetts-based magazine Amplifier has kept the torch burning for power pop for several years now, championing ultra-melodic popsters that both the major labels and the boyband/mook-obsessed public generally ignore. (more)

The Best of Miles Davis and John Coltrane

Plus more reissued works of Miles Davis and John Coltrane.

Aural Fixations

ROBERT CRAY
Shoulda Been Home (Rykodisc)
Sometimes the most innocuous performers are the most difficult to critique. Case in point: Robert Cray.

Cray began his career lumped into the bluesman category, and despite leanings towards MORish, barely bluesy original material, he did cavort with the likes of Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan. He also showed off his guitar prowess freely. But as time rolled on, he plunged into a decidedly more Stax/Volt R&B direction. Horns and organ crept into the mix, and the guitar took a back seat. (more)

Loud Reading

OFF THE RECORD
David Menconi
(iUniverse.com)
Off the Record is the story of the rise, from out of nowhere (AKA North Carolina), of the startlingly talented Tommy Aguilar Band (AKA TAB). Leader Aguilar is a borderline prodigal savant with as much talent for onstage magic as for terrifying or infuriating anyone within earshot. Right on cue enters Gus DeGrande, a malevolent concert promoter whose boredom with his current industry omnipotence spurs him to seek a new frontier: artist management. (more)

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