narenmusic

By Narendra Kusnur Book: A Fabulous Creation: How The LP Saved Our Lives Author: David Hepworth Genre: Vinyl records Publisher: Penguin Random House, UK Rating: **** Slowly but surely, the long-playing record or LP has made it back into the collections of aficionados. There was a time, of course, when it was the main means of music consumption, besides the radio. British journalist David Hepwortth, who has written for music magazines Smash Hits, Q and Mojo, looks back that that golden era when LP was king. Appropriately, A Fabulous Creation: How The LP Saved Our Lives  focuses on the years between 1967, when the Beatles released their iconic Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band , to 1982, when Michael Jackson made waves with Thriller  . Most audiophiles have their own stories of collecting or exchanging vinyl records. Likewise, Hepworth mentions a series of personal anecdotes, but what makes his account different is his description of how the LP became a lifesty...

By Narendra Kusnur Album: Colorado Artiste: Neil Young and Crazy Horse Genre: Rock, Americans Label: Reprise Records Rating: **** By releasing his 39th studio album Colorado , Canadian star Neil Young has inched past Bob Dylan’s tally of 38. But unlike Dylan, whose voice and songwriting style changed considerably over the years, Young has remained more or less the same in these areas. One of the main attractions of Colorado  is the reappearance of multi-instrumentalist Nils Lofgren in Young’s on-and-off backing band Crazy Horse, after some 47 years. The regular bassist Billy Talbot and drummer Ralph Molina continue to hold the rhythm section. Like with any new release by Young, irrespective of whether he's assisted by Crazy Horse or not, Colorado comes with plenty of expectations. One may instantly complain that it isn’t in the same class as earlier masterpieces like After The Gold Rush, Harvest, Comes A Time, Zuma, Old Ways, Harvest Moon and Mirrorball.  And ...

By Narendra Kusnur Album: Sun On Sand Artistes: Joshua Redman & Brooklyn Rider Genre: Chamber jazz Label: Nonesuch Records Rating: ***** Joshua Redman is one of the most versatile saxophonists of the 21st century, displaying mastery over the tenor, alto and soprano forms. The winner of the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition in 1991, he has often shown a ready desire to experiment. Earlier this year, Redman led a quartet on Come What May,  a collection of seven tunes he wrote. On his latest sojourn Sun On Sand,  he is joined by the Brooklyn Rider String Quartet to play compositions from a suite written by Patrick Zimmerli. Sun On Sand  is a highly innovative collaboration, also featuring double bassist Scott Colley and drummer Satoshi Takeisha. As a sub-genre, one could classify it as avant garde jazz, new age, jazz crossover or chamber jazz. With the string quartet featuring two violins, viola and cello, the musicians combine to c...

By Narendra Kusnur  Album: When It's Time Artiste: Blackstratblues Genre: Instrumental blues-rock Label: Self-released Rating: *** 1/2 After fronting Mumbai rock band Zero, Warren Mendonsa turned solo with Blackstratblues, playing his guitar-based compositions. The project has had a good following on the live circuit, and regular recordings have attracted fans over the past 12 years. The fifth Blackstratblues album When It's Time   was released last month to mark Mendonsa’s 40th birthday. Joining him are keyboardist Beven Fonseca, drummer Adi Mistry and drummer Jai Row Kavi, with saxophonist Sid Vashi appearing on the concluding title track. When It's Time  is a concept album on how life progresses in five-year spans till the age of 40. Though the base is blues-rock, one finds doses of funk and modern jazz, and even influences of guitarists like Carlos Santana, Lee Ritenour and John Scofield. The album begins with a countdown by a young girl (Mendon...

By Narendra Kusnur Book: Maestros And Their Music Author: John Mauceri Genre: Western classical Publisher: Vintage Books Rating: **** When one talks of conductors, many Indians immediately think of Mumbai-born Zubin Mehta. Hardcore classical aficionados would mention Leonard Bernstein and Herbert Von Karajan. The conductor performs a very crucial role in nurturing an orchestra, and unlike what many think, his job involves much more than standing with one’s back to the orchestra, waving a baton and finally taking a bow. In his book Maestros And Their Music , senior conductor John Mauceri goes into granular detail about “the art and alchemy of conducting”. To be sure, this isn’t a layman’s guide on the subject or a plain description of important pieces conducted by various masters. There is a lot of technical detail, specially while explaining how certain conductors approached certain compositions. The ideal reader would be someone who’s been involved in classical music...

By Narendra Kusnur Album: Easter Is Cancelled Artiste: The Darkness Genre: Hard rock, glam rock Label: Canary Dwarf, Cooking Vinyl Rating: **** Imagine a hard rock band beginning an album with a song called ‘Rock n’ Roll Deserves To Die’, because its time has finally come. Well, with British outfit The Darkness, one wouldn't be surprised. This opening track from its latest album Easter Is Cancelled   talks of how everything has become so cliched and predictable in the current rock music scenario. And, aided by Justin Hawkins’ high-pitched screaming and quick falsetto, they pull off a winner with this song. The Darkness first made news in 2003 with its super-successful album Permission To Land.  Hawkins was hailed as among the best vocalists of his generation, and his brother Dan Hawkins helped create a sound clearly blending 1970s hard rock, glam rock and early heavy metal. Sadly, the band had its lows, with Jay Hawkins having addiction issues. He’s clea...

By Narendra Kusnur  Album: In Cauda Venenum Artiste: Opeth Genre: Progressive metal Label: Moderbolaget Records Rating: **** It's been nearly four decades since Swedish progressive metal band Opeth has been on the scene, despite going through numerous line-up changes. The group also has a strong following in India, where it has played a couple of times and is now slotted for the forthcoming NH7 Weekender in Pune. Opeth has recently put out its 13th album In Cauda Venenum  (Latin for ‘Poison In The Tail’). Like in most of its previous efforts, the band blends 1970s progressive rock influences with heavy metal flavours, using long songs with dramatic tempo changes, ambient spells and acoustic guitar interludes. There are 10 tracks here, running up a total of 67 minutes. The length may deter listeners from hearing it repeatedly in its totality, but Opeth weaves the songs smoothly. Even Tool’s latest album Fear Inoculum   ran 87 minutes, and this seems to...

By Narendra Kusnur Album: BeDesi (EP) Artiste: Sharma And The Besharams Genre: Indian folk-fusion Label: Self-released Rating: **** She arrived on the scene in 2003 as part of Aasma, the Indipop quartet promoted by Channel V. After a stint at the Berklee School of Music, Boston, Vasuda Sharma focused on Indian folk-fusion. She's now formed the group Sharma And The Besharams (SATB), blending regional melodies, dialects and sounds with western arrangements. SATB’s debut EP BeDesi  was released on September 21. The four songs have a rustic Indian feel, but are blended naturally with modern sounds. Three of them have so far been released as videos, and whether you watch or listen to them, the tunes grow on you. Sharma is accompanied by guitarist and banjo player Chaitanya Bhaidkar, keyboardist Jayakrishnan Unnithan, violinist Shravan Sridhar, bassist Chirayu Vedekar, flautist Rajat Prasanna and drummer Rahul Hariharan. The compositions are tight and the instruments flo...

By Narendra Kusnur Album: Sinematic Artiste: Robbie Robertson Genre; Americana Label: Universal Music Rating: *** 1/2 We all know Canadian musician Robbie Robertson as guitarist and vocalist of The Band, which backed Bob Dylan and on its own, played a huge role in developing the Americana genre. On his later solo albums, he has tended to experiment with new sounds, but kept the basic principle of solid songwriting and effective lyrics as his priorities. At 76, Robertson has released his latest solo album, the oddly-spelt Sinematic,  eight years after its predecessor How To Become Clairvoyant . Meanwhile, he has kept himself busy with various film projects, including Martin Scorsese’s forthcoming The Irishman. Sinematic  has plenty of good compositions, talking of subjects like crime, politics, the environment and love, besides a few dedications to Robertson's heroes. His guitaring is in supreme nick, using wah-wah effects in short bursts. However, one can't h...