Sam Baker – Land of Doubt

 

Sam Baker – Land of Doubt 

URL: http://www.sambakermusic.com/land-of-doubt 

Following a European tour behind his new album, Land Of Doubt, Sam Baker is turning his attention to creative projects in 2017: Opening his first-ever exhibition as a visual artist, staging an original play and filming a documentary. As you may know, Sam has limited hearing after being on a bus that exploded during a 1986 terrorist attack in Peru, but he’s from Texas, now living in Austin. The play he’s working on is entitled Broken Fingers, and the art show Dream of the Snow Geese. And the album Land Of Doubt is a meditation album centering around everyday reflection of the uncertainties in life. It’s a home hitter in that area especially, but it’s also folk music with a lot of heart and soul with a general singer/songwriter approach, with some southern jazzy textures. “Summer Wind” starts out with not much but some cool guitar bits to keep it interesting, and interesting the guitar is, appearing nowhere else on the album like that.

“Some Kind Of Blue” is a track for the masses to soak up, should they ever get wind of such a monster war tune. It tells the typical Viet Nam story and you feel him all the way, from his flashes of humor to flashes of sympathy, as well as his blunt portray of it. He takes you through most of the aspects that meet the usual standard in war songs, but you get the feeling it’s more personal whether you know or not. It’s a lot to take in but once you do there’s almost a sigh of relief, and then it’s all over after the marching beat. Nothing left to do but carry onto the next song with another instrumental, this one a haunting little piano solo. It makes its way into the next track without hardly any notice.

“Margaret” is a melancholy little tune about someone who sounds like anyone would want to be around. He displays a certain swagger in this which can’t be found anywhere else on the album, and it’s appropriately placed but doesn’t seem intentional, and some of the effortlessness of that comes off very well on this song which also has some decent piano behind it too. It’s a point where the mention of production by Neilson Hubbard, using the jazz trumpet of Don Mitchell and the sustained guitar textures of Will Kimbrough, producer/guitarist for Rodney Crowell and Todd Snider, to frame the lyrics. So, it’s not all Sam Baker to credit but all his table to sit at.

“The Feast Of Saint Valentines” is cool, and so is “Moses In The Reeds” especially with the latter’s funny parts if you can catch them. And another highlight for me is “Say The Right Words” which gets the heart of matters and comes with some awesome trumpet playing to polish it off nicely. “The Sunken City Rises” is a string pieces with some cello and violin that start to mesmerize as it falls too short, but “Peace Out” extends the mood nicely. The lyrics tend to lose me but it’s the guitar that makes up for it. “When Fallen Angels Dwell” is the second most interesting instrumental and the album closes with a band on “Land Of Doubt” as it walks away with the ultimate effort of the album.  

YOU TUBE: https://www.youtube.com/user/SamBakerVideo

Alan Foster

bd Gottfried releases new LP

bd Gottfried releases new LP 

SPOTIFY: https://play.spotify.com/album/660bZnkhpYtelvrovQiYZL?play=true&utm_source=open.spotify.com&utm_medium=open 

In 2017 - bd Gottfried is an edgy, uncompromised writer releasing his 8th solo album entitled: Through The Dog’s Eyes - produced by Juno Winner Siegfried Meier. With airplay in over a dozen countries he continues to work in an unrestricted style with lyrical depth that will always take you on a journey. Having a varied working background as a touring musician and session player. Working in the past with a vast array of artists such as Pino Palladino (Pete Townsend, John Mayer Trio). Breen Laboeuf (Celine Dion, April Wine). Greg Dechert (Bad Company, David Gilmour), to name a few.

The only thing left to say and do is start with “Something You Weren’t” as it does the business in getting right into things on a long-player of an album with some rocking and not so rocking parts. First of-all you can clearly hear where he’s drawing influences from, although it might be newly applied if you know his previous works. But it can’t be denied that he’s been recently inspired by the works of both Iggy Pop and David Bowie. Latter days of both, to be honest, with a few early inflections here and there. But that’s not all I hear, I hear Roxy Music and some others that even creep into the 90s.

The smooth and rough edges continue with “Crosshairs” which is another excellent track, equally as good as the introduction as they both pass with flying colors, but not all do, as there is a low point or two. I won’t mention any of those because it deserves focus on its bright side, as it dominates the production. However, “Blame It On The Money” is not one of them. It rather sits on the top shelf with the best to be found on the CD. If-only every track had the same ingredient power, as this one could be heard on any rock radio station in the world, and not go unnoticed. This is simply a monster track.  

It's not easy to follow such a piece of ear candy, but “Eye Of Time” rivals it for airing time, although this one wouldn’t go over as well on radio, it still competes with anything in the set of burning tracks. This could be the more serious side of the artist, but it’s okay because that is his better side. You have-to get into this but once you do, you’re hooked. It should be seen for what it is, and that is one of the ultimate tracks for sure, at least from where I’m standing, on which it really all depends or why give an opinion. It’s where the cream of the crop can be found, and the beauty along with it.

“Frequencies” is a track that almost deceives with its lower key being its tricky aspect. You can either play along or not, which I did, and that is why I get it. Nothing is over until it’s over, but if you hit the next track you won’t have the chance to get it. I’d give this song a chance and see for yourself. It’s a melancholy treat of you let it do its magic. You almost feel like it’s attached to one of the previous tracks, and that bodes well on the concept, whatever it may be. “Breakaway” also leaves an impression, and so do “Reformation” and “We Have Love.” These are all points worth catching on what is a cutting-edge release for the masses, as well as fans of this intriguing artist.

MP3RED: http://mp3red.me/37514872/b-d-gottfried-crosshairs.html

Terry Smith 

John Elderkin and ¡Moonbeams No Mas!

 

John Elderkin and ¡Moonbeams No Mas! 

BARNES AND NOBLE: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-fall-and-rise-of-john-elderkin-and-moonbeams-no-mas-john-elderkin-and-moonbeams-no-mas/31036683?ean=0888295545990 

In some important ways, The Fall and Rise of John Elderkin and ¡Moonbeams No Mas! is a musical narrative about inspiration. This seventeen song collection takes a lot of its cues from David Bowie’s seminal classic The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and, while it may not share its same commitment to gender bending theatrics, it does share many of the same narrative ambitions and clearly draws from Bowie’s album as a reference point. Elderkin, however, is an immensely talented songwriter who never finds himself bogged down risking imitation. The seventeen songs on this album, instead, represent how adeptly Elderkin has proven to be and taking an initial jumping off point of inspiration and expanding on it with a creative and musical vision all his own.
 

Few songs illustrate that better than the album’s first full length number “We Waited Five Years”. You’ll hear few songs capable of conjuring genuine gravitas with moments of unexpected, playful humor. Elderkin’s voice emerges from the mix with bell-like clarity and clearly has the capability of carrying a tune like this with warmth and personality. The golden oldie jump rockabilly flavor of the song “Messy Down Below” sounds like it was cut in a sweaty basement or garage and it’s certainly a major part of its appeal. Elderkin has the voice for this, as well, and throws himself into the performance with wild-eyed raucous glee. There are human voices creeping into art rock atmosphere surrounding “The Message”, but no lyrics or words per se. It is a brief number and has many of the qualities we’d otherwise associate with a spiritual chant augmented by tastefully deployed keyboard textures. There’s some electric guitar heard low in the mix on “Song for David Bowie”, but much of this tune devotes itself to a sprightly acoustic guitar arrangement punctuated by good drumming with a discernible and appealing swing.  
 

The acoustic guitar dominates “Keep It Down” as well, but there’s a dissonant edge cutting into the song’s second half quite different than anything we heard in the aforementioned song. Elderkin consistently makes keyboards work within the context of this music by using them the right now – they are rarely used in a musical “leadership” role and, instead, ably fill the gaps in Elderkin’s arrangements. The beautifully spartan piano of “You Got Sick” finds an equally simplified match in Elderkin’s lyrics. They are words that say more than they know and trying to uncover the song beneath the song, the story behind the story, is part of the immense fun listening to a song like this. “Fat Levon on Acid” is pure hilarity in comparison. The guttural, fuzzed out bass and primordial drumming jarringly contrast with the off the wall lyrics and imbues the song’s character with a discernible shape and mood. “Sore Afraid” comes late in the album and does such an effective job putting over its vulnerable demeanor that you will be immediately drawn closer to its delicacy. “Give Me Your Hands” is a wonderful finale for the album. It has some of the same zany humor that’s distinguished a number of the cuts, but there’s an equal deference to the album’s serious ambitions and a vital humanity coming through during every minute of this performance. John Elderkin and his band have aimed high with this release and it really can’t be heard as anything else but an unqualified success.  

AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Fall-Rise-Elderkin-Moonbeams-Explicit/dp/B073ZXKDZL 

Lance Wright