{"id":11890,"date":"2016-12-06T05:30:43","date_gmt":"2016-12-06T10:30:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=11890"},"modified":"2016-11-28T12:04:12","modified_gmt":"2016-11-28T17:04:12","slug":"nrbq-the-unity-of-man-and-of-former-members-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2016\/12\/06\/nrbq-the-unity-of-man-and-of-former-members-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"NRBQ: the Unity of Man (and of former members), Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"nrbq_highnoon\"Continued from Part One<\/a> …<\/i><\/p>\n

From NRBQ<\/b>‘s start, jazz pianist Thelonious Monk<\/b> was a hero to Terry Adams<\/b> and his band mates. \u201cThe music of Thelonious had a big impact on me when I was a teenager,\u201d he says. \u201cI took a lot in, and heard him live many times, and needed to give it back.\u201d That giving back took the form of Adams’ 2016 release Talk Thelonious<\/i>, a re-imagining of songs from Monk’s catalog. Talk Thelonious<\/i> is an Adams solo release in name only, as the NRBQ’s current lineup is featured prominently throughout the album. A track from that disc, \u201cRuby, My Dear,\u201d is included on High Noon<\/i>. \u201cIt’s the first NRBQ recording that is orchestrated,\u201d says Adams.<\/p>\n

\u201cNRBQ’s wide variety is something we’re not conscious of when playing,\u201d he continues. \u201cIt’s just natural, organic and honest.\u201d Without it, he believes, \u201cwe wouldn’t be who we are. It keeps us happy and fresh.\u201d The 5 discs that make up the new High Noon<\/i> box set serve as a kind of musical travelogue through NRBQ’s music. The first disc features recent and\/or new music from the Q’s current lineup, featuring Adams, drummer John Perrin<\/b>, bassist Casey McDonough<\/b>, and guitarist Scott Ligon<\/b>. \u201cScott and Casey are the featured vocalists,\u201d says Adams, who won his own medical battle (stage 4 throat cancer) a few years ago.<\/p>\n

\"nrbq1\"<\/p>\n

Adams says that Ligon and McDonough \u201chave great ideas and are great writers. John Perrin is among the best drummers I’ve played with, and he’s only been in the band one year. So the band is moving faster than ever.\u201d He adds, \u201cThis is not a sales pitch; it’s the truth. Because all of us \u2013 from the beginning through now \u2013 are building on something that’s already beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

High Noon<\/i>‘s four other discs take a chronological look at the Q’s music, from 1966 tracks cut by pre-NRBQ group The Seven of Us, through the band’s various collaborations with Carl Perkins<\/b> and Captain Lou Albano<\/b>. \u201cThe early days were pretty wild and loose,\u201d says Adams. \u201cReally creative, but also unorganized in every sense. Around ’74 a change happened when Al Anderson and Tom Ardolino<\/b> and the Whole Wheat Horns<\/b> signed on with me and Joey Spampinato<\/b>. Al was already very popular, and that was a great lift for the band. We began to play constantly on tour, and that made us get better and better.\u201d<\/p>\n