Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Reimagining The Court of the Crimson King and it's a modern day replication of Fripp's early masterpiece. Opening with 21 Century Schizoid Man , Todd Rundgren and Arthur Brown on vocal is a bit more outrageous than Greg Lake's stellar vocals on the original release. Fripp who masterminded everything that KC did played guitar beautifully on the original yet Chris Poland pushes the envelope yet further. Michael Giles, who plays drums on the original track I always thought did a masterful job yet Ian Paice really does a nice job here as well and the addition of Mel Collins on sax really is a great touch. Excellent! One of my favorites form the original composition is I Talk To The Wind with Jakko M Jakszyk on vocal, guitar and keys and he really does a nice job. Django Jakszyk on flute holds the sub melody. Very nice. Danny Faulkner has the lead on Epitaph and really carries it well. Joe Lynn Turner sings Moonch...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Dark Encounters , from Prog Collective , a project founded and helmed by Billy Sherwood of Yes note. Opening with Darkest Hour , longtime Billy Idol guitarist, Steve Stevens is featured with soaring guitar riffs over Sherwood's bass, keyboard and drum composition. Atmospheric and intense, this is a strong opener. Steve Morse (Dregs/Deep Purple) adds his own virtuosity to Ominous Signs with a more structured composition allowing more freedom for Sherwood's own exploration. Dark Days is one of my favorite tracks on the release with Bumblefoot (GNR) contributing some real nice guitar and vocals, Patrick Moraz (Moody Blues) on keys, Omar Hakim (Weather Report) on drums and Sherwood on bass. Soft Machine's John Etheridge lays down some nicely phrased guitar lead on The Fifth Hour , paired with Sherwood on bass, keys and drums. Very cool. Another of my favorite tracks, Between Two Worlds features Steve Hillage (Gon...

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Monster's Ball, from Arthur Brown and it's a cool, twisted blues rocker. Opening with Lucifer Sam , a driving rocker, Brown is joined by Ian Paice on drums, Steve Hillage on guitars, Fernando Perdomo on Hammond, Mellotron and bass and James Booth on guitar. On Jack Bruce's I Feel Free , Brown uses his own style on Bruce like vocal and Cream's arrangement. Joining Brown are  James Williamson on guitar, Rat Scabies on drums and Jurgen Engler on bass. Arthur Brown's 60's hit, Fire is up next and with only minimal changes in arrangement, Brown rolls this one out in full power. Backed by James Williamson on guitar, Carmine Appice on drums, Brian Auger on organ and Engler on bass, this track still rocks. Wrapping the release is ELP's Karn Evil #9: 1st Impression, Pt. 2 and with Brown's own twists in the arrangement, it's cool to hear this old track played with enthusiasm from Jordan Rudess ...

Album released by G-Wave Records - Monday 23rd September 2013 "Hinotori" single EP released - Monday 3rd June 2013 London & Manchester 2014 Concerts Tickets available from 9am Wednesday 29th May from: www.musicglue.com/rovoandsystem7 Fans will receive a free mp3 download of the "Hinotori" EP when ordering tickets Rovo and System 7 announce two UK concerts next year when they will perform works from their new album "Phoenix Rising" , released in the UK on Monday 23rd September . Official artwork for the "Phoenix Rising" album The dates include Manchester Ritz on Friday 7th March and London o2 Shepherd's Bush Empire on Saturday 8th March 2014 . Tickets available from 9am Wednesday 29th May from www.musicglue.com/rovoandsystem7 . Fans will receive a free mp3 download of the "Hinotori" EP when they order tickets. Manchester Ritz Friday 7th March 2014 Tickets: £20.00 plus booking...

Album released by G-Wave Records - Monday 23rd September 2013 "Hinotori" single EP released - Monday 3rd June 2013 London & Manchester 2014 Concerts Tickets available from 9am Wednesday 29th May from: www.musicglue.com/rovoandsystem7 Fans will receive a free mp3 download of the "Hinotori" EP when ordering tickets Rovo and System 7 announce two UK concerts next year when they will perform works from their new album "Phoenix Rising" , released in the UK on Monday 23rd September . The dates include Manchester Ritz on Friday 7th March and London o2 Shepherd's Bush Empire on Saturday 8th March 2014 . Tickets available from 9am Wednesday 29th May from www.musicglue.com/rovoandsystem7 . Fans will receive a free mp3 download of the "Hinotori" EP when they order tickets. Manchester Ritz Friday 7th March 2014 Tickets: £20.00 plus booking fee Doors: 18.30 London o2 Shepherd’s ...

Now here's something different! I just received the new release from The Fusion Syndicate . This band is made up of jazz, rock and blues superstars and the recording is all you could wish for in this format. Billy Sherwood, writer of all compositions and with a background of top bands as long as your arm played keys, guitars drums, synth and vocals throughout this recording. The opening track, Random Acts Of Science , has strong hints to the Mahavishnu Orchestra featuring Rick Wakeman (Yes) on keys, Jerry Goodman (Flock, Mahavishnu Orchestra) on violin, Nik Turner (Hawkwind) on sax and Jimmy Haslip (Yellowjackets)on bass. This is a terrific track and one that shows not only the virtuosity of all of the instrumentalists and excellent writing skills of Sherwood, but also brings back into the forefront one of my favorite fusion violin players. This is no lightweight composition and all instrumentation is first class. Next up is Stone Cold Infusion , a funky track featuring Steve S...