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 (February 22, 2019), Nobody Told Me , from John Mayall and it's quite good. Opening with Magic Sam's, What Have I Done Wrong , a solid  blues rocker, Mayall on lead vocal, keys and harp is joined by Greg Rzab on bass and Jay Davenport on drums and features Joe Bonamassa on guitars. Great opener. Larry McCray joins on The Moon Is Full with blistering guitar riffs over a really hard driving bass line by Rzab. Excellent! Rush veteran, Alex Lifeson joins on Evil And Here To Stay , a lumbering blues track with a healthy dose of Mayall on vocal, harp and piano. Lifeson shows an excellent adaptability from his hard driving rock sound to soulful blues riffs. Very nice. Little Milton's That's What Love Will Make You Do has a funky bass line by Rzab and tune master Todd Rundgren fires off some blistering blues guitar riffs of his own. Gary Moore's, The Hurt Inside , is one of my favorites on the release again...

Blues Hall of Fame Member John Mayall Announces New Album,  Nobody Told Me Featuring Todd Rundgren, Little Steven Van Zandt, Alex Lifeson and Joe Bonamassa. On February 22nd Forty Below Records will release  Nobody Told Me , the new studio album from The Godfather of British Blues, John Mayall. As with his last handful of albums, Mayall again shares production duties with Forty Below Founder Eric Corne who also handles engineering and mixing duties. The album boasts an impressive and diverse list of guest guitarist...

I just received the newest release, An Evening With Todd Rundgren , from Todd Rundgren and it captures the master of blue eyed soul in concert at the Ridgefield Playhouse in Ridgefield, CT on December 15, 2015. Todd opens with one of his best know tracks, I Saw The Light , from early in his career and it is a fine opener. Blasting right into Love Of The Common Man with John Ferenzik on keys, Jesse Gress on guitar, Prairie Prince on drums and Kasim Sulton on bass. Early rocker, Open My Eyes really gets the crowd rocking and Todd rips a hot solo to conclude the track. Todd and the crew hit a lot of the top tracks from his 25 release career including titles from at least 15 releases. Something/Everything I Saw The Light Black Maria Couldn't I Just Tell You Faithful Love Of The Common Man Black and White  Nazz Open My Eyes Hello It's Me A Wizard A True Star Sometimes I Don't Know What To Feel Soul Medley: I'm So Proud, Ooh Baby Baby, I Want You S...

Todd Rundgren, rock and roll icon, guitarist, interactive progenitor, singer-songwriter and record producer, plays the Manchester HMV Ritz on Saturday October 1st. The Manchester date is the first of several UK concerts billed as "An Evening With Todd Rundgren". the shows are described as "The greatest hits tour Todd fans have been waiting to see for years." Tickets for the Manchester HMV Ritz concert on October 1st are available from the 24 hour ticket hotline: 08700 603 777, www.seetickets.com. Meanwhile, Rundgren's three night residency at the London Jazz Cafe (October 3-5th) is completely sold out. These are Rundgren's first UK dates since 2010's sold-out London Hammersmith Apollo concert where he performed his 1973 album A Wizard, A True Star. Rundgren is widely regarded as the godfather of music and multimedia. Having founded and The Nazz, the quintessential `60's power-pop psychedelic band, in 1969 he left them to pursue a solo career, recordi...

I gotta say this took me totally by surprise. Used to be a big Todd Rundgren fan and then it appeared he got a little bogged down in electronics. I just read in Vintage Guitar magazine that he has a new tour/cd and it's called Todd Rundgren Johnson. I have checked out a few clips on youtube and it is actually pretty cool. Check it out! Get Facebook support for your favorite band or venue - click Here

Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. Hailed in the early stage of his career as a new pop-wunderkind, supported by the certified gold solo double LP Something/Anything? in 1972, Todd Rundgren's career has produced a diverse range of recordings as solo artist, and during the seventies and eighties with the band Utopia. He has also been prolific as a producer and engineer on the recorded work of other musicians. During the 1970s and 1980s, Rundgren engineered and/or produced many notable albums for other acts, including Straight Up by Badfinger, Stage Fright by The Band, We're an American Band by Grand Funk Railroad, Bat Out of Hell by Meat Loaf (now ranked as the fifth biggest-selling album of all time), and Skylarking by XTC. In the 1980s and 1990s his interest in video and computers led to Rundgren's "Time Heals" being the eighth video played on MTV, and "Change Myself" was generated...

This is a good example of how the blues can morph. Todd Rundgren, always a musical innovator began singing blue eyed soul in the suburbs of Philly in the mid '60s and by the late seventies was using all of his blues chops to play this blues rock infested music. I know it's outside the realm of pure blues... but not outside of the realm of what can make us better listeners and appreciate deviation from the base. I just have to remind myself that one of the most influential blues writers of all times, Robert Johnson, probably doesn't appeal to most listeners in his pure form. It is far too primitive and many don't like his howling voice. Not a lot unlike Jack White. I for one love it. But my job here is to find the best blues and blues influenced music available and get it to you (and me) to listen to. Get Facebook support for your favorite band or venue - click Here