In Part one I looked at the album Antiques and Curios, it was a very fine album, but it was obvious that the band were still  trying to find their feet. From The Witchwood fixed that problem, but created many others.
I was lucky to have had the opportunity to have interviewed both Dave Cousins and […]

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 This is a guest article by author John Cherry. He is the author of two books, Better Than Lennon and Paul McCartney’s Solo Music Career 1970-2010 he can be found at Betterthanlennon.com - Simon
The advertised start time for the Zac Brown Band (ZBB) show at Germain Arena in Naples, FL was 7 PM. I […]

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This is a guest article by author John Cherry. He is the author of two books, Better Than Lennon and Paul McCartney’s Solo Music Career 1970-2010 he can be found at Betterthanlennon.com - Simon
I had heard the music from James McCartney’s first release, an EP titled “Available Light.” This CD has all of the […]

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This is a guest article by author John Cherry. He is the author of two books, Better Than Lennon and Paul McCartney’s Solo Music Career 1970-2010 he can be found at Betterthanlennon.com - Simon
JULIAN LENNON-“EVERYTHING CHANGES”
I was pleased to learn that Julian Lennon had returned to the recording studio after an extended absence. […]

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For the past few years I have compiled a list of my favorite books read. It was a surprisingly difficult task, the caliber of new authors is so high that to chose one over another is next to impossible.
2011 was no exception, time and time again wonderful books crossed my desk. It makes me happy […]

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Sometimes a reworking of a piece of composition feels like a genuinely new piece of work and a brilliant idea (see Howard Shores’ The Lord of the Rings Symphony) and sometimes it feels like a record company repeatedly milking a cash cow (see TWO “Star Trek” albums by The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra - […]

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From the opening notes of the first track (”Spy Mom”) it’s clear that there’s not much nuance here. But you knew that from watching the trailer right? Launching the fourth entry in his profitable Spy Kids franchise, maverick director Robert Rodriguez seems out just to have a good time. Imagine the most obvious “spy” music […]

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Working from the original 12 hours of music he wrote for The Lord of the Rings trilogy, composer Howard Shore created this roughly two hour, six movement symphony. Conducted by Swiss Maestro Ludwig Wicki, who in 1999 founded the 21st Century Orchestra (the performers here) specifically to specialize in film scores. For those that originally […]

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With such memorable small release titles under his belt as The Conspirator, The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans, and Reservation Road, along with the recent surprise hit Dolphin Tale, composer Mark Isham has been been slowly building relationships with directors of small films that make a big impact. Director Gavin O’Connor’s Warrior, […]

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As a follow up to the underrated Valhalla Rising, Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn has stepped up his game with the Ryan Gosling vehicle (no pun intended) Drive, earning himself a Best Director award at Cannes and solid reviews from critics and viewers alike. The impressive thriller benefits from taut action and tight performances by […]

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In the world of Prog Rock there is a founding member, genealogy searches take you to one place ELP. Keith Emerson, Greg Lake and Carl Palmer. Each brings something unique to the  table.
Being part of a band in someways akin to being in a marriage, there are up’s and down’s.
The founding members of ELP drifted […]

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This is a guest article By John Cherry
When someone to whom I feel very close suggested that I listen to the song “Knee Deep,” by the Zac Brown Band, I ended up on YouTube and watched a beautiful pictorial that accompanied the song. Today, I have seen that the song was #1 last week on […]

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This is a guest article by John Cherry, author-“Better Than Lennon-The Music and Talent of Paul McCartney and “Paul McCartney’s Solo Music Career 1970-2010”  Visit betterthanlennon.com for special offers
As I headed to Wrigley Field for the second of two nights of seeing Paul McCartney in concert, I knew that I would be sitting much further […]

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This is a guest article by author John Cherry.
The last time I was in Chicago to see Paul McCartney in concert was for his return to touring in 1989. This was 13 years after my first, and, at that time, only attendance of a McCartney concert. That was during his first U.S. tour after leaving […]

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This is a guest article by author John Cherry.
Since Paul McCartney is my favorite musical artist, I sometimes encounter a bit of mixed feelings upon his release of new material. This is due to the fact that I retain such high expectations for his work that I set myself up for a disappointment. When the […]

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Mark Ruffalo won the Special Jury Prize at Sundance last year for his directorial debut about a Los Angeles DJ who unexpectedly finds himself drawn into the world of faith healing after an unfortunate accident. Having not seen the movie I have no idea if Ruffalo knows his way around the back of a camera […]

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Though this four disc box set has the wink-wink subtitle “Volume One,” it contains music from all nine seasons of the paradigmatic supernatural series “The X-Files.” With 94 tracks clocking in over five hours of music this is more than just a “best of” collection, this is a catalog. With extensive liner notes describing the […]

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CD:  Class Is Now In Session
 
Artist:  Farnell Newton
 
Label: FNMUSICWEB
 
If you haven’t heard the name Farnell Newton I’m not surprised because this is a musician that is more concerned with the music then accolades from fame. He is the classic model of […]

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There’s not much to say about Bear McCreary that I haven’t already said here, here, here or here among other places. The young composer made his name scoring the hugely popular Battlestar Gallactica series, and has since scored Eureka, Human Target, Caprica, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and The Walking Dead. He’s the kind of […]

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From The Music of Batman to The Music of Star Trek, The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra is certainly a compilation-producing bunch. This latest album, released by Silva Screen Music, is no exception. Grouping an hour of music from various well-known films throughout the decades, this is a compilation of Celtic pieces - the go-to […]

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Terrence Malick’s latest creation hasn’t even been released yet (it goes into limited release this Friday the 27th of May) and it’s already one of the most talked about films of the year. After its premiere at Cannes, critics raved and panned the film (though, for the most part it has received high ratings). It […]

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Though composer Murray Gold may be best known for his work on the similar television series Doctor Who (including Series 4 and Series 5) and Torchwood,  he’s also scored a few films in his time (Death at a Funeral, Alien Autopsy). But his popular work on Doctor Who is what enticed first-time director Mike Disa […]

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Artist:           Sean Jones
CD Title:      No Need for Words
CD Release: May 24, 20011
Label:           Mack Avenue Records
These days when you hear someone is releasing a new CD you don’t get excited because there maybe some disappointment to follow. No matter who the artist is theirs always a chance of disappointment very few artists are […]

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Title: Soul Tree
 
Artist: Lin Rountree
 
Release Date: March 8, 2011
 
 
In my past reviews I have been rather direct and hard on smooth jazz and I have clarified my definition of what I feel smooth jazz is and what it is not. But […]

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It doesn’t take much Google effort to figure out that I am a fan of Tokyo Rosenthal. I have yet to listen to a Toke CD that I did not like. This by the way is an unusual situation, most musicians have used up their catalog of songs by the end of CD number two. […]

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Gretchen Parlato
CD: The Lost and Found
Obliqsound Records, 2011
Release Date: April 5, 2011
Theses days to hear a CD that erases all the cares of that day much less the world is a rarity. After hearing “The Lost and Found” what every was bothering me at that time drifted away as if I had just taken a […]

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Unlike some composers who jump right in as composers, Chris Bacon has spent most of his time in various positions in the music department, while only occasionally making his way over into full-on composer mode. With dubious initial composer credits (including Space Chimps and several TV movies) to go alongside his music department jobs in […]

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“The relationship of Sufi music to the more popular Qawwali is almost similar to that of traditional Gospel music to traditional R&B music as pioneered by Ray Charles.” These liner notes from the album give a little background as to the importance of Sufi music in Bollywood.
Defined as “the inner, mystical dimension of Islam,” Sufism […]

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So Matthew McConaughey decided to put his shirt back on and go back to work on a dramatic legal film. With Marisa Tomei at his side, the film has been earning high marks from both critics and the film-going public. Tickets to The Lincoln Lawyer were even available on Groupon before it’s opening weekend, reminding […]

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Composer Marcelo Zarvos has only been in the business for a little over a decade, but he’s already got some pretty hefty credits to his name, including Hollywoodland, The Air I Breathe, HBO’s You Don’t Know Jack, and the upcoming Jodie Foster project The Beaver. Beastly is an interesting addition to his versatile resume, but […]

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