![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/luther_russell_mc.jpg\")
Luther Russell \u2013 Medium Cool\n<\/i><\/b>Russell first attracted my notice via his collaboration with Jody Stephens, the very Big Star<\/a>-ish Those Pretty Wrongs<\/a>. He won me over with a 2CD set of rarities, Selective Memories<\/i><\/a>. This here\u2019s the trifecta: Medium Cool<\/em>. I don\u2019t mean any knock toward Russell\u2019s originality, but this album answers the question, \u201cWhat would a third Big Star album have sounded like if they continued in the vein of #1 Record<\/i> and Radio City<\/i>?\u201d For some, that\u2019s all you\u2019ll need to know. Chiming, hooky and assuredly well-written songs played and sung with conviction. This disc will surely make my 2019 best-of list.<\/p>\n
I can\u2019t point to specific reasons as to why this is the case, but in recent months there has been more than the typical amount of really good music finding […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16334,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,31,39,49,51,55,56,62,65,66],"tags":[3301,2730,3239,845,1107,3762,3764,2742,2588,1697,1770,3763,2413],"class_list":["post-16292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-americana","category-funk","category-indie","category-new-release","category-pop","category-powerpop","category-prog","category-rawk","category-review","category-rockabilly","tag-dave-kerzner","tag-edward-rogers","tag-fernando-perdomo","tag-focus","tag-jason-ringenberg","tag-jim-basnight","tag-level5","tag-luther-russell","tag-o-r-k","tag-phil-lee","tag-r-stevie-moore","tag-rogers-and-butler","tag-yes","cat-6-id","cat-31-id","cat-39-id","cat-49-id","cat-51-id","cat-55-id","cat-56-id","cat-62-id","cat-65-id","cat-66-id","has_thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16292"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16292\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16549,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16292\/revisions\/16549"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/yesterday_today.jpg\")
Various Artists \u2013 Yesterday and Today: A 50<\/i>th<\/i><\/sup> Anniversary Tribute to Yes
\n<\/i><\/b>When is a tribute album not a tribute album? Good question. Working closely with guitarist Dave Kerzner, Fernando Perdomo \u2013 the peripatetic musician with one foot in power pop and the other in prog \u2013 has crafted a tribute of sorts to the progressive rock heroes. But he\u2019s aided in his pursuit by \u2013 this is where it gets odd \u2013 actual, y\u2019know, members of Yes. Geoff Downes, Billy Sherwood, Tony Kaye and Jon Davison sing and play on the album. Other guests including Francis Dunnery (It Bites), Leslie Hunt (District 97) Marco Minnemann and Nick D\u2019Virgilio (Spock\u2019s Beard). Surveying material old and older, it rocks.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/focus_11.jpg\")
Focus \u2013 Focus 11
\n<\/i><\/b>You remember \u201cHocus Pocus.\u201d That\u2019s the demented 1971 prog instrumental with the yodeling; yeah, that<\/i> one. Been a few years, right? So you may be surprised to learn that Dutch group Focus is still going, with key members (including founder\/leader Thijs van Leer<\/a>) still involved. Perhaps more surprising is that as the calendar hustles toward the 50th<\/sup> anniversary of the band\u2019s best-known song, Focus still has plenty to offer. Primarily (though not completely) instrumental, Focus 11<\/i> rocks with all the melodic intensity of the group\u2019s best work. Opener \u201cWho\u2019s Calling\u201d exhibits all the qualities that make Focus a thrill ride.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/rsm_afterlife.jpg\")
R. Stevie Moore \u2013 Afterlife
\n<\/i><\/b>Oftentimes when an artist cranks out a huge amount of material, quality suffers; just look at Robert Pollard\u2019s body of work: there are gems to be sure, but there\u2019s a significant amount of throwaway material in the GbV catalog as well. Underground DIY hero R. Stevie Moore<\/a> puts Pollard to shame with his endless stream of output and truth be told, some of it makes for tough going. But when it\u2019s great, it\u2019s truly great. This ace collection features old and new songs, all recorded with high production values and featuring some of RSM\u2019s like-minded collaborators including Jason Falkner<\/a>. Recommended.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/level5_sybil.jpg\")
Mark Feldman\u2019s Level5 \u2013 The Sybil EP
\n<\/i><\/b>Imagine an instrumental funk band with the chops to be able to shift seamlessly between a greasy groove and stomping prog-metal \u2013 and back again \u2013 in the space of a single song. Then imagine that the song has a single-worthy hook that places it perilously close to pop territory. Drummer Feldman assembled this superstar quartet that features guitarist Oz Noy, keyboardist Adam Klipple and in-demand bassist Will Lee (Brecker Brothers, The World\u2019s Most Dangerous Band, etc.). A fun set dinged only slightly for the fact that it features but three songs and has a run time under 20 minutes.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/jason_ringenberg.jpg\")
Jason Ringenberg \u2013 Stand Tall
\n<\/i><\/b>You may know Ringenberg through his group, Jason and the Scorchers<\/a>. Or perhaps you know his children\u2019s music done under the name Farmer Jason. Either way, Ringenberg\u2019s knowing hybrid of musical forms \u2013 specifically high lonesome country and rock \u2018n\u2019 roll \u2013 give him a sound that\u2019s uniquely American. Stand Tall<\/i>\u2019s instrumental title track is sweepingly cinematic; listen and you\u2019ll see visions of the American west. Boot scootin\u2019 rockers like \u201cLookin\u2019 Back Blues\u201d show that he still has the Scorchers fire. His lyrics are among his strong suits; \u201cJohn the Baptist Was a Real Humdinger\u201d will make you a believer.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/phil_lee_horse.jpg\")
Phil Lee & the Horse He Rode In On
\n<\/b><\/i>For the clever title alone, Phil Lee\u2019s latest deserves praise. This hoary Americana troubadour doesn\u2019t really need the help of outsiders to make a compelling album, as he proved some years back with his The Fall & Further Decline of the Mighty King of Love<\/i><\/a>. But the horse that helps him out here is none other than Ralph Molina and Billy Talbot. And Barry Goldberg adds his soulful Hammond to the proceedings as well. You\u2019ll hear subtle shades of The Band and (not surprisingly) Neil Young, but ultimately, Lee sounds like nobody but himself. And that\u2019s fine by this listener.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/jim_basnight.jpg\")
Jim Basnight \u2013 Not Changing
\n<\/i><\/b>I first heard Basnight when I bought Yellow Pills Volume 1: The Best of American Pop<\/i> way back in 1999. His \u201cRest Up\u201d was a highlight of a mostly-killer-little-filler power pop collection. I learned then that Basnight had several albums to his credit. But once the 20th<\/sup> century began, I heard little from or about him; I had no idea if he was even still active or if his style would be different. Well, guess what: his new album, Not Changing<\/i>, answers both questions. Catchy, crunchy singalong midtempo rockers with subtly inventive musicianship and intelligent lyrics are the album\u2019s hallmarks.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/rogers_butler_dd.jpg\")
Rogers & Butler \u2013 Diana Dors<\/i> EP
\n<\/b>I like Edward Rogers\u2019 2016 album Glass Marbles<\/i><\/a>; to my ears it sounds like a cross between Ian Hunter and Ray Davies; one can hardly top those sorts of influences. Working with multi-instrumentalist Stephen Butler, Rogers returns with a shimmering, amazingly heartfelt EP. Four songs means that listeners will be nearly simultaneously won over and left hungry for more. But quality trumps quantity every time. Rogers takes the lead vocal on two; Butler sings the other two. Their vocals complement each other on this set of muscular yet supremely tuneful, timeless pop. Bonus points for the involvement of Dennis Diken<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/ork_ramagehead.jpg\")
O.R.k. \u2013 Ramagehead
\n<\/i><\/b>Fans of Porcupine Tree eventually had to come to terms with the fact that the superb progressive group was finished for good. Happily, Steven Wilson<\/a> has continued his prodigious and high-quality output. He shares that characteristic with his former bandmate, bassist Colin Edwin<\/a>. His work traverses prog, ambient and other forms, but O.R.k. ranks among his most accessible. It just so happens that \u201cKneel to Nothing\u201d sounds a bit \u2013 but not too much \u2013 like Fear of a Blank Planet<\/i>\u2018s \u201cSleep Together.\u201d One of the best drummers in the business \u2013 Pat Mastelotto<\/a> \u2013 is all over these tracks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"