Rockin' Johnny Band, Grim Reaper

Hey, Rockin' Johnny and his band get some great blues rocking going. His second (I think) CD, Grim Reaper (Delmark 820) fits my mood right now and does it in the right way. Rockin' Johnny has a vocal style that reminds a little of early Paul Butterfield, as does the general style happening with the band. Johnny is no Michael Bloomfield (and of course only Michael B could do Michael B), but he plays with soul and blues authenticity, whatever that is (you know when you hear it). The band is driving and tight.

And it works too because Rockin' Johnny reworks the blues message and comes up with new twists: "Shoe Leather and Tire Rubber" is about trying to find a gig, "Grim Reaper" pits Johnny with the angel of death, and there are other good songs about the tough times we are in. The blues get you out of the blues. . . and to paraphrase and mess with Ray Charles's maxim, nowadays "everybody has the blues!" So the time is right, for the blues, for Rockin' Johnny.

This one's got it. So get it and get out of it!

Ligro, Dictionary 2

From Jakarta, Java, Indonesia, there's Ligro, a guitar-bass-drums fusion outfit that brings it on. Their first international release, Dictionary 2 (MoonJune 047), is at hand, and I for one am glad of it.

It's a fusion trio that has absorbed the Lifetime-McLaughlin-and-beyond legacy and made something of their own of it. This is music with bite. No small part of that is due to the playing of Agam Hamzah. He has facility, a great harmonic-fuse sense. He writes well too. And he can pace a solo with taste and drama, never at a loss for ideas. Adi Darmawan plays bass the way bass should be played in an ensemble like this--strongly foundational and rock solid, yet loose when called for and in no way cliched. Drummer Gusti Hendi has great chops, the independence to get the complex sounds that drive and goes his own way to boot, avoiding the repetitive formulaic approach and hitting it with full force.

It's a rather amazing debut. It's hard-hitting all the way but there's plenty of variety, even including an interpretation of Stravinsky's "An Easy Piece Using Five Notes."

It's a surefire winner for anyone who digs on advanced guitar wielding, the fused arts, and a hot trio going at it with music that rises above the repetition of accepted formulas to make something very much new out of it all. You are warned: things are happening musically in Indonesia today. This is an important piece of that and it should not be missed! Hurrah to MoonJune for bringing this to us.

Operation ID, Legs

I covered Operation ID's recent EP a few days ago here. Today, a full album, Legs (Table and Chairs 003). What I said about the EP applies also to the full CD. They are a Seattle-based unit that gives out with a pleasingly potent mix of compositional progressive jazz-rock in a contemporary vein, following in part a trail originally blazed by Frank Zappa and early-mid Soft Machine.

It's a five-piece outfit of Ivan Arteaga on saxes, Jared Borkowski on electric guitar, Rob Hanlon, synths, David Balatero, electric bass, and Evan Woodle, drums. This music makes its mark especially in the ensemble arrangements and the overall ambiance. The solos suit the pieces at hand but are not the primary thrust of the music.

It's ground-breaking, path widening prog/post-prog instrumental music of a high order. And it's well worth checking out if that sounds interesting to you.

Prima Donna, Bless this Mess

Prima Donna has a kind of early Kinks-meets-Ramones rootsiness to their music, at least on their recent Bless this Mess (Acetate 7044). Then somehow a little John Lennon sneaks in there. Then not.

It's wall of power-chord guitars band liveliness with vocal harmonies and a slightly punkish lead vocalist. They do originals that make a serious attempt to be real songs, and pretty much succeed in that throughout.

It's pretty hard hitting power pop punk I guess. And it's pretty good.

Markus Reuter, Kopfmensch

Something new from the innovative Markus Reuter. Well, not entirely new. It's an anthology of Reuter's work that he put together before embarking on last year's "Two of a Perfect Trio" tour of the US (a Crimsonite gathering featuring the Adrian Belew Power Trio and Tony Levin's Stickmen, the latter of which included Reuter).

The album is called, humorously, Kopfmensch (Unsung). It's not exactly a greatest hits compilation. Some of it is unreleased. It shows you hefty, exhilarating glimpses of the post-Crimson Reuter, the compositional post-prog Reuter, and, something I am less familiar with, the art-song Reuter.

There are 16 cuts, much music. All kinds of notables appear (go to www.markusreuter.com for a rundown of what and who). And the end result, after a suitable period for gestation, is remarkable. Landmark. A gem of avant rock and/or post-prog. It's what others may be trying to do, but don't always get quite right.

This is quite right.

Operation ID, Trapped

First, sorry for the long pause in posts here. I was feeling quite out of sorts. The good news is that I am (I hope) back for good.

Today a pretty remarkable post-prog composer-quality rock single by Operation ID: Trapped (Table and Chairs). It has a Zappaesque attention to part writing and avant elements interspersed with a highly evolved melodic rock approach.

It's a damned fine slab of music if you like the ultra-prog thing. This is a band with its own sound. There's an album that came out after this that will be up for discussion in a few days. Meanwhile this whistle-whetter is worth the couple of peanuts you shell out if you like avant rock.

See you tomorrow.

Pardon My Absence

I'll be back tomorrow.