Box Set Review: Paul Simon's 'Graceland' [25th Anniversary]

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Paul Simon-‘Graceland’ 25th Anniversary Box Set 
Album and Reissue Review 
****1/2 [4.5 Stars] 
By Anthony Kuzminski
[BUY THE BOX SET HERE]
[Published in conjunction with the antiMUSIC Network]

During 1986 and 1987 the pop music landscape was breathtaking and far more varied than anyone gives it credit for. Many dismiss it for being an era that relished big melodies and crystalline production aesthetics, but what made the latter part of the 1980’s so enlivening was how much divergent and diverse music there was to get lost in. Music was undergoing a colossal change as new genres like thrash metal and rap began to emerge while other established artists infused their sounds lassoing several genres in ways no one had envisioned before, notably U2, Peter Gabriel and Paul Simon, who won the Album of the Year Grammy for Graceland in early 1987. Graceland has largely endured as something more than just one of the first mainstream albums to wholly embrace world music. Simon wasn’t the first to do this, but how he went about doing it is what makes the album and its history so captivating. Up until now, Graceland has always been one of those records that I admired more than loved. It houses a true amalgamation of eclectic music which feels familiar and fresh simultaneously, a rare feat in any art form, but for some reason the album never connected to me as deeply as it possibly should. So why do I find myself suddenly enthralled with the record and its history? The recently released 25th Anniversary 4-disc box set of Graceland has not just re-introduced the record to me, but its accompanying discs present the album in a light never before imagined. This anniversary package is the definitive document on the album with the four discs encompassing its conception, birth and history in one perfect package.

The box set is housed in an oversized package which includes a recreated notepad full of partial lyrics and ideas Simon had for the album. Taking a cue from Bruce Springsteen (who housed his brilliant Darkness on the Edge of Town box set within a spiral recreated notebook), Simon has given us a glimpse into the ideas running rampant in his head as he tried to bring Graceland to life. The notebook is more than a mere souvenir with glorified liner notes, but an actual piece of history. There is also an extensive booklet of pictures with quotes from interviews, bonus interviews and videos on the DVD and a folded oversize poster of the album cover. But the real heft of this set lies in the music and DVD’s. For the purposes of this review, I will break down and review each of the four discs below.

The Remastered Album
Listening to records decades after they were initially released is a tricky proposition. Often, nostalgia directs the experience not allowing us to look past the warm fuzzy feeling it gives us in our heart to see its flaws. That being said, I was floored by the emotions that overtook me when I listened to this new remaster. As I began to listen to the joyful “The Boy in the Bubble”, I was hooked. For a record I haven’t listened to this album front to back in decades and yet I was pulled in. The title track finds middle ground between African rhythms and a Sun Records shuffle. Up to this point, no one had ever been able to intertwine world music with pop music from the Western world. It could be argued no one ever topped what Simon did on Graceland.The bass and chorus of “I Know What I Know” sounds wholly unique but the lyrics come from someone who spent a lifetime around New York while the drums pop through the speakers highlighting the new remastered touches. “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes” would have worked with Simon and an acoustic, but the Ladysmith Black Mambazo group take the song into unchartered waters (as seen by the Saturday Night Live performance included on one of the DVD’s). Much credit must be given to the core backing band of Ray Phiri on guitar, Bakithi Kumalo on bass and Isaac Mtshali on drums who form the key band members on half of the album’s tracks. The performances are so freeing and lack any type of ego, that they bring the songs an unadulterated joyfulness to them, something no studio musician probably could have delivered, no matter how talented.
Paul Simon, who received an enormous amount of flack for recording with South African musicians due to the cultural boycott due to South Africa embracing apartheid. This is the focus of the documentary Under African Skies discussed later in this review. It’s a tricky thing to look at Simon as an innocent, because he did intentionally defy the African National Congress. He went to South Africa did more than just record with these musicians- he brought them to London and New York to complete work on that album. If that wasn’t enough he went one step further and launched a tour with all of these musicians in tow. It would be too easy to dismiss Simon because you could make the argument that he brought more attention to these musicians and the music of South Africa than anyone else ever could have. Despite cutting through red tape, more than a quarter of a century later it’s hard to imagine Graceland being the same record without these musicians. Graceland has never sounded better than it does on this new remaster. It appears to have been touched up for the 21st Century without blemishing it and sacrificing the bottom end for increased volume on the MP3. This is a rare album worth the upgrade based on the album alone, but as you’re about to see, there is much more worth seeking out.

The Bonus CD
The two audio CD’s are not full of an immense amount of bounty like some reissues of late, however, while alternate mixes and even a live album or acoustic versions would have been nice (Amazon.com has an exclusive five-track live CD from Spain included with the box), what is included I so spot on and perfect, you can’t help but think anything else would have been superfluous. The bonus disc has demos for “Homeless”, “Crazy Love” and “You Can Call Me Al”, an alternate take of “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes” and an early version of “All Around the World or the Myth of Fingerprints”. While the second disc may appear to be slim, it’s startling to hear. “Homeless” is a bare demo with his vocals and an acoustic guitar and is a stark contrast to the final product that wound up on Graceland. An extensive sequence in the documentary featuring the demo can be seen as they show the evolution of the song. While appearing as a bonus cut on an earlier reissue, it has added weight here due to the documentary. The early version of “All Around the World or The Myth of Fingerprints” has an accordion, heavy rhythm guitar and what sounds like what may be a drum machine. There is an instrumental demo of “You Can Call Me Al” and “Crazy Love” which are both missing the breezy punch that group gave the back of the track. This is an important lesson to take from this collection and this review. Sometimes, it is worth you time and energy to craft a song and push it along as far as you can. There is something to be said about not simply releasing your first draft. The final track is “The Story of ‘Graceland” which finds Simon narrating anecdote and stories about the making of the album, which stands alone from the documentary.

Graceland: The African Concert
This concert film was a main stay on the VHS Music Video Charts in the late 1980’s when music home video releases were reserved only for acts whose record sales were in the millions. Amazingly, the concert is receiving its first release on DVD. It’s a wonderful representation of this album in a live environment and is notable for taking place in Zimbabwe which was a homecoming of sorts for musicians Hugh Masekela and Miriam Makeba who left South Africa and had not returned until this tour. The concert doesn’t contain the encores of Simon and Garfunkel songs but is otherwise a complete record of what the tour was like back then. I’m not sure as to what level of mastering was done in bringing the film to DVD. While it looks good, much of the footage looks dated, however, it’s watchable and while there are no bonus features, it’s integral to the overall story of Graceland as Simon showed the world he could do more than create a record merging the music of clashing cultures, but he took it on the road and invigorated the world further in an audience that appears to have no cultural barriers.
Under African Skies Film Review
The most integral part of this reissue and box set is the new documentary, Under African Skies which was directed by Oscar nominee Joe Berlinger whose credits include the Paradise Lost trilogy and Metallica: Some Kind of Monster. The film completes the circle of the box set and the album. It’s a revealing and riveting look at more than just the Paul Simon and his music but the trouble he encountered by breaking a cultural boycott by going to record with musicians in South Africa. More than twenty-five years later, this may seem to be a minute detail, but the apartheid regime of South Africa was a very big deal in 1986. The repercussions as a result of going there, recording with the musicians and then touring with them led to bomb threats and repeated controversies throughout the tour. To the credit of the film, it does not shy away from any of this. It faces it head on and it’s why this is more than your standard documentary. The film shows vintage footage of Simon recording the album and it’s paired with new interviews and rehearsal footage of where he reunited with the Graceland band last year. The current day rehearsals and performances while nice to see, don’t service the film as strongly as the archive footage paired with new interviews, which trace his creation of the songs that appear on Graceland. One element of the documentary I found fascinating was how Simon recorded the basic tracks with the musicians in South Africa without having any lyrics. I’ve always been in awe of anyone who writes music first and saves the lyrics for later because this increases the workload and makes the job ten times harder. He spoke about how “Graceland” was just a word he put in place until he could change it, until he realized it wasn’t going away and how the music took him on a journey he could not have foreseen. One never imagines how much time, energy and hard work goes into creating music. More importantly, it shows how determined Simon was to create something truly lasting.
One of the aspects of this box set that is so downright staggering is how it encompasses the entire journey of Graceland. The demo disc captures the songs at their birth, the album is in many ways a toddler, on the live concert DVD we are able to watch these songs find their footing and expand to limits and boundaries beyond the record and finally on the gripping documentary Under African Skies it covers the thirty year history of not just the songs, but Paul Simon’s journey, struggle and redemption. Watching to the documentary and the bonus cut of “The Story of ‘Graceland’ (Told by Paul Simon) makes you appreciate the album in ways not imaginable. This is a tall order for a top-five record who won the Grammy for Album of the Year. To me, Graceland isn’t so much an album where Paul Simon took a detour, but a collection of songs representing the possibilities of pop music. There are new and inventive ways to tell a story and sometimes a voice and acoustic guitar will suffice, but sometimes you have to spice up the recipe to capture not just acclaim, but a wider audience as well. With Graceland Paul Simon reminded himself (and us) that great art is created from stepping outside of your comfort zone and taking a chance.
 
Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network. His daily writings can be read at The Screen Door. He can be contacted at tonyk AT antiMUSIC DOT com and can be followed on Twitter

Concert Review: Peter Gabriel - Chicago 9/27/2012 'So' Anniversary Tour

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Peter Gabriel
Concert Review: Chicago, IL- United Center 
September 27, 2012
By Anthony Kuzminski

[Published in conjunction with the antiMUSIC Network]

[Buy the deluxe edition of So HERE]

Six songs into Peter Gabriel’s concert at the United Center in Chicago, the drum loop of “Secret World” built dramatic tension usually reserved for a cinematic thriller. In the two decades since “Secret World” appeared on Us in 1992, it’s a song that hasn’t lit up radio dials, but anyone who has witnessed Peter Gabriel in concert knows it’s a defining moment of any show. As Gabriel whispered “shhh” into his microphone, the few remaining in their seats stood up because they were intrinsically aware something magical was about to happen. Gabriel’s longtime guitarist David Rhodes tickled his guitar strings and took the song into a muscular musical terrain that matched the concentration of Gabriel’s lyrics and themes. On his 1992 blistering first person narrative Us Gabriel took us beneath the surface of beauty into a confused and bleeding soul yearning for compassion and understanding. He has always matched these deeply personal declarations with some of the most bracing arrangements imaginable. Throughout his twenty-one song set on the Back To Front tour, Gabriel revisited these themes time and time again and the striking lyric imagery was only matched by the steely musical arrangements. No other living musician has a body of work that provides a more absorbing emotional pull. I always try to find something in an artist’s work I can wrap not just my mind around, but more importantly, my heart. Every time Peter Gabriel stands behind a microphone, he goes deeper than anyone dares. He digs up memories from the past, makes us acknowledge the battle scars and encourages us to find a way to heal. Despite the fact that his current tour is behind a record more than a quarter of a century old, Peter Gabriel concerts are places we go in the hopes that when we leave, we walk away a better person with a tighter grasp on the mysteries that often keep us from attaining greatness.

When Peter Gabriel took to the United Center stage, it was inconspicuous as he simply walked up to the microphone to talk to the audience with the house lights still on. He explained the show would take place over three segments- an acoustic one, a full band electric performance and then his seminal 1986 album So in its entirety. He then welcomed longtime bass player Tony Levin and the two of them debuted a new and unfinished song “OBUT” which is most likely in its early stages of development. As Gabriel finished singing behind a big baby grand piano, he welcomed the other five musicians who would join them on the stage. What differentiates this backing band from previous tours is the core band consists of the same five individuals who toured behind So in 1986 and 1987 along with Jennie Abrahamson and Linnea Olsson on backing vocals. With the band onstage, they delivered a pair of acoustic songs reverberated throughout the arena – “Come Talk To Me” and “Shock the Monkey” the latter of which brought the entire arena to their feet and clapped along. His first US Top-40 hit enlivens regardless of the presentation. The sweeping “Family Snapshot” began with Gabriel behind the piano and as the band fully synthesized chemistry came to fruition and kicked in full force, the arena went dark to great effect and the electric portion of the set took off. The subconscious metallic “Digging in the Dirt” flourished under the direction of the tight band, the jaunty and joyous “Solsbury Hill” received a enormous endorsement from the crowd but it was the somber “Washing of the Water” which probably provided the crowd the evening’s most startling look in the mirror. Listening to “Washing of the Water” makes you want to crawl back into the womb as his vocals exude such wisdom and warmth. The lyrics are poetic and paired with the solemn musical arrangements that make you mourn and celebrate all the same. As he crooned, “Bring me something, to take this pain away” at the songs conclusion, it took great strength to hold back to emotions within. Who has not felt alone and despondent? Yet because we know others feel alike, there is a sense of reassurance knowing we are not alone.
One of the reasons Peter Gabriel tours are events are not just because they are infrequent, but because of the vision he brings to the stage. Despite fewer theatrics this time out, five crane-operated lights provided a sprawling design of shadows and light throughout the entire show. “The Family and the Fishing Net” and “No Self Control” found the crew manning the lights in a circular fashion giving the screens on opposite ends of the stage a arresting visual most appreciated by the crowd in the upper rafters. If the performances were not enough, Gabriel gave the crowd the impression of being inside its own music video. The circular prop at the top of the lighting rig encapsulated Gabriel during the encore performance of the Ovo track “The Tower That Ate People” and as imposing as all these tricks were, it never once took away from the music. Peter Gabriel has always been a visually remarkable audience going back to his days with Genesis, but what makes his non-musical achievements so grand is they always matched the music and his current stage design is no different.

Peter Gabriel has always been a peculiar artist, never following trends or concerning himself with what other people think. Virtually no one would have their greatest commercial success and wait six years to follow it up as he did. Further, no one would wait another ten for the next one. Everything he dedicates himself to will not see the light of day until he feels it is ready. There is no science to his artistry and while this can be maddening for fans like me, I understand it. He carries not just his career in the balance, but the breadth of his work as well. There is a reason his work is an emotional tour de force traveling straight into your heart and psyche like no one else would dare. After writing, producing, recording and touring his records he most likely is physically and emotionally depleted. Yet every release is the embodiment of several years work from his studio work, side projects, soundtrack work to his upcoming six-disc mammoth box set celebrating the 25th anniversary of So. For a man who rarely looks to the past, this is a unusual choice and touring behind it is even more curious, especially when the tour consists of sixteen total dates with no further ones planned. It does not really matter why he is touring now, all I can tell you are that it is highly likely it will not return, so see it while you can.

So is one of the most vital records not just of the 1980s but also from the last thirty years. It’s every bit of a cultural touchstone as Paul Simon’s Graceland and more than a quarter of a century later, every last note sounds timeless. So how did it hold up in concert? Spectacularly well. Gabriel assembled the same five-piece core band who toured with him from the start of the So tour in 1986-87. Guitarist David Rhodes and bassist/ stickman Tony Levin predated the So tour and have been next to Gabriel ever since. Drummer Manu Katché adds slight touches to the rhythm matching the undercurrent of Tony Levin’s imposing bass. Keyboardist David Sancious brought many of the songs to life with broad-brush strokes of his keys while Jennie Abrahamson and Linnea Olsson flawlessly accentuated each song with their lilting vocals helping Gabriel’s own soar without ever overpowering them. You can only take a new batch of songs on the road once and see them flourish under the dark of night with transporting the audience. So is the album and tour that defined Gabriel and seeing him back onstage with the same musicians is something to not take lightly. The seven musicians on the stage are a force to be reckoned with. The performance of So was an unearthly experience. While Gabriel is not the first artist to perform an album top-to-bottom, few have done it better. So remains beautiful and timeless and the performance was spellbinding as Gabriel went into the inner child of each audience member and the band replicated the exotic music to pinpoint perfection. Manu Katché’s drums busted to life on “Big Time” and delivered knock-outs on “Sledgehammer” and “That Voice Again” while Sancious found the perfect hue for “Red Rain”, “Mercy Street”, “This is the Picture” and of course “In Your Eyes” for which there are no words. It is more than a song, but a cultural touchstone for most of the audience and will most likely be the song Peter Gabriel is remembered for decades from now. The band stridently did this material justice in ways they have never done before which is a feat all unto itself.

Beneath the extraordinary musicianship, the hits, the cinéma vérité lighting and videos there was a crowd who for at least one night was reawaken to the intricate matters of our minds. I speak of this ad nauseum in my reviews not because I believe art is essentially a mirror to our fears and desires. By going over it with a fine toothcomb there is something philosophical and weighty not just to be found but experienced. During the evening’s final song, “Biko”, Gabriel and his band did not just overpower the audience, but were the soundtrack to a world that is ever changing. Manu Katché’s drums kept the beat, as the band and audience became one with their “oh-oh-ohhh” chants, which continued as each musician left the stage one-by-one until only Katché was left with the big beat. When that final note was struck, he left the stage and in the darkness, the “oh-oh-ohhh” chants continued. This was not a mere call-and-response, but a call to arms in hopes the chant will last long after the house lights go on. The power of art has always had the potential to make us greater than who we think we can be. Listening to Peter Gabriel is as if we have been blessed with a guide from above who will help us make sense of the chaos and injustice in this world, but within as well. He has shown us the way, given us the tools and now it is up to us to make the change. The 2012 Back To Front tour is a celebration not just of the So record but a deep invigorating evening full of soul searching tales brought to life by a buoyant band who is every bit as good as they were twenty-five years ago.

Peter Gabriel will be on tour through October 14. It is unlikely there will be further dates added before 2014, so this is a must-see ticket. The six-disc anniversary edition of So will arrive in stores on October 23.

Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network. His daily writings can be read at The Screen Door. He can be contacted at tonyk AT antiMUSIC DOT com and can be followed on Twitter

Richie Sambora - 'Afftermath of the Lowdown' album review now on antiMUSIC

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It took me a while, but you can now read my bit in-depth review of Richie Sambora's Aftermath of the Lowdown over at antiMUSIC at THIS LINK  . It will appear here in full in a few days.

Here's a sample:

On the album's eleven songs he unleashes a beast and pairs them with swift, razor-edged arrangements that do more than preach optimism, but force the listener to not just get in the car, but to be acutely aware of the rearview mirror, because no matter how far and wide we may drive, the past is always there. It is this intellectual realization where Sambora acknowledges and tackles his struggles that makes Lowdown such a engaging and endearing album. I would not have wanted to endure his tests in recent years and yet, hearing his woes and survival tactics makes me feel less alone, less afraid and more determined to tackle all tragedies that have and will befall me. He takes us to a fragile place where there is no community to sustain us and a clear and informed resolution must be made in order to carry on. Aftermath of the Lowdownis a celebrated artistic declaration capturing the ecstasies and agonies of Sambora's life and it more than a consequential tale of endurance but represents explicitly how our bewilderment can be turned into an avowal of tenacity. Richie Sambora's reward is the clear conscience he carries knowing that his hard fought battles were not in vain and the listener's reward is an album full of hard fought truths and lessons for us to behold.

Album Review: Richie Sambora - 'Aftermath of the Lowdown' [4-Stars]

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Richie Sambora-‘Aftermath of the Lowdown’ 
Album Review 
Four-Stars (****) 
By Anthony Kuzminski
[Published in conjunction with the antiMUSIC Network]

Buy the album HERE

Life at its most distressing can take an unanticipated tragic turn forever altering our given path. In these moments of tribulation, there is always the chance that we will forever lose a piece of ourselves. Some find a way to endure and others fall into an infinite pit of despondency, never being able to view life in the same tint again. Finding a passageway to what once was is not an option and what seems like an endless untraveled road is all that is in front of us. The loss of a job, divorce, death of a parent or child and the incapacity to tame personal demons forever alters lives. It is easier to fade away than to find your way home without a map, but those who make the journey will not just survive the next obstacle, but thrive under future duress. Listening to Aftermath of the Lowdown, the third solo record from Richie Sambora, it is evident that life took him down unanticipated roads over the last decade. Sambora’s world has changed considerably- his daughter is now a teenager, his marriage is no more, his father passed away and there have been widely documented personal struggles that I don’t need to mention, because Sambora tackles these demons head-on on Aftermath of the Lowdown. Those who view Sambora solely as Jon Bon Jovi’s co-conspirator are in for a revelation on Lowdown where the guitarist takes his audience to a wounded and fragile place rarely found on Bon Jovi records. The eleven songs that encompass Aftermath of the Lowdown look the listener straight in the eye creating an intimacy that hasn’t been heard from the Bon Jovi camp since the last set of solo outings in 1997 and 1998 on Jon’s Destination Anywhere and Sambora’s Undiscovered Soul. The band and their music have taken on simpler dimensions over the ensuing decade with thick-punching riffs fueled by universal lyrics of resolve. While the pop-metal-country flavors are ready-made for radio dials and shaking stadiums, Sambora has cast a smaller net with a prominence on personal reflection in an outspoken spiritual workout.

Over three solo ventures, Richie Sambora has taken his audience into his psyche at different turning points in his life. His 1991 debut, Stranger in this Town was the culmination of a life work. It was a money shot of personal expression. He held nothing back on that record and with thirty-million in record sales in less than five years, he did not have to follow typical record company creed, he earned his artistic freedom. The ten songs that encompass Stranger have blues, hymnals, pining love songs and off-the-wall lusting soundscapes. Containing songs written from when he was nineteen (“The Answer”) through the age of thirty-one (“Ballad of Youth”). The record did not sell like previous Bon Jovi records, but the fans often view it as a magnum opus with a wall full of colorful sounds and more importantly a declaration of tenacity. Sambora took his audience into his world and as you sat in the dark with a candle lit, when the final note rang from “The Answer” you felt as if you had taken on a life’s journey through dark passages and roads of hope. His next solo disc appeared seven years later, Undiscovered Soul and Sambora constructed another eclectic set of songs digging into his classic rock influences. A lot had changed between his first and second solo records; he married Heather Locklear, went through his richest spell of creativity with Bon Jovi and became a father. The optimistic mood infected Undiscovered Soul and tinted it with rays of light not on Stranger. However, the album came out without promotion- it was as if it never existed. However, the title cut, “Fallen From Graceland” and the jagged guitar lullaby for his daughter “You’re Not Alone” brewed with expressive vigor. Shortly thereafter, Richie and Jon Bon Jovi began writing in earnest for their 2000 release Crush, which contained “It’s My Life”, the song that took the band to new commercial and sales heights. Since then, the Bon Jovi machine has barely taken a breath and as of this writing, they have a new record ready for release in early 2013. Another solo record was always an option, but Sambora handled its creation delicately. After the lack of interest from his label on Undiscovered Soul Sambora managed to negotiate a release from Universal for Lowdown which being released by Dangerbird Records, home of the Silversun Pickups and Butch Walker.

Sambora’s previous efforts were co-produced by men with rich classic rock roots. Neil Dorfsman had made his name working with Paul McCartney and Sting while Don Was is responsible for Bonnie Raitt’s comeback and everything the Rolling Stones have recorded going back to Voodoo Lounge. For Lowdown Sambora returned to a familiar face, Luke Ebbin, who was an unknown a little more than a decade back when he was unexpectedly brought onboard to produce Crush. Ebbin has never received his due for taking the Bon Jovi sound into the 21st century. His work on Crush gave Bon Jovi a fresh modern sound and more importantly, it validated that Bon Jovi still had rock n’ roll flowing through their veins. Ebbin was on board for the follow-up, Bounce in 2002, which is widely considered the band’s weakest effort. I do not blame the production on that record, but rather the song choices, overriding themes and sequencing. To his credit, the band shines luminously on two cuts, the rev-up rocker “Hook Me Up” and the best modern day ballad the band has recorded, “The Distance” where Sambora’s guitars fluctuate like a skipping heartbeat. On Lowdown Ebbin helped bring out the quiet menace living within Sambora’s heart and mind. The sound of the record is exhilarating ear candy from the get-in-the-ring assault of “Burn That Candle Down” to the solemn prayer “World” that closes the record.

“Burn That Candle Down” opens the record in a tsunami of musical explosion as Sambora steers his band towards into a torrential musical breakdown where Prince takes on Jack White. His vocals are mixed in with the serrated performance giving the listener a mono feel as they experience one gargantuan and unrefined jam. Sequencing this cut at the front of the album was deliberate. Bon Jovi is a band whose sound as a live band has always surpassed their records, and this is the best document of what they're capable as musicians from the Bon Jovi camp since 1995’s These Days. Much can be said about the backing band that Sambora assembled for the album. Aaron Sterling brings an energetic liveliness to the drums, Matt Rollings colors the songs with his organ and piano, Curt Schneider holds the line on bass, Rusty Anderson (best known for touring with Paul McCartney for over a decade) compliments Sambora with additional guitar while Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. embellishes the songs with his lovely keyboards. They never overshadow the songs, but vigorously threw themselves into the performances giving each song a well assembled sound that feel more like a band in a bar than an overproduced pop record.
The music housed within Lowdown distills decades worth of influences and largely defies categorization. Sambora knows his way around a song and here on Aftermath his songwriting talent flourishes in ways few could have imagined while the minimalist approach to the instrumentation helps bring the emotional pacing to a hopeful climax. The album is a rhapsodic blend of his musical personalities from the blues to rock to soul to pop but one continual influence I hear is Paul McCartney. The rehearsal room jams checks McCartney's first two solo records (McCartney and Ram) while sentimental and simple cuts such as "World" and "I’ll Always Walk Beside You" tread tricky waters. The messages in these two songs are far and wide and could easily be dismissed but Sambora sings each song with such earthy earnestness, you cannot help but be seduced. The production on these two particular songs brings out their best without driving them off a cliff into pop hell. This is notable, because they could have easily been overproduced. A prayer to our planet (“World”) is not the type of thing a rocker should do and it could be mocked, but it works because the message is not as heavy handed with his voice and a few guitars. "I’ll Always Walk Beside You" is a valiant proclamation of love from a musician who grasps and comprehends the substantial experiences of our lives. Sometimes all we need is someone to place a hand on our shoulder reminding us that tomorrow will be better. Even a song like “Weathering the Storm” which may have a few clunky lyrics is redeemed by a searing guitar solo and Sambora’s ambition and need for expression.

My favorite records are ones where the artist draws back the curtain to let me into their world. When you listen to Blood on the Tracks by Bob Dylan the doubt and confusion of a relationship that is ending is felt. Peter Gabriel’s 1992 Us takes the listener on a heart rendering journey through jigsaw puzzle of musical styles where through poetry and world music he deconstructs the failing relationships around him from his broken communication with his daughter (“Come Talk To Me”) to a relationship doomed due to a shared inability to converse and understand (“Secret World”). It is one thing to convey ache and another to outline the moment of awakening where you realize you have the key to your cell. As the world watched Sambora trouble in dealing with his pain in a very public manner, we all wondered when he had that moment of realization where his troubles caught up with him. The answer is clearer than ever on “You Can Only Get So High”, a spellbinding confessional unpinned by melancholy piano keys. Deeply personal and haunting, you hear years of tumult come into focus as it hangs out there like a never ending breeze that reminding you of the trappings of not just success but life. He does not hold back from delivering a few punches to himself in a song full of forthright and sincere observations. He may have more money than I could earn in ten lifetimes, but by letting us inside, the ache is irrefutable. “Seven Years Gone” is an inner confrontation where toughness is balanced with tenderness yielding another masterful moment of awakening. On the volcanic "Learnin' How to Fly with a Broken Wing" Sambora and his unhinged band erupt into a poignant purge as the rubber burns on an open road where despite being battered, there is perpetual optimism. The finale of “Seven Years Gone” and “Broken Wing” showcases his rip-roaring six-string traits better than any song he's performed on since "Next 100 Years" from Crush.On the album's first single, "Every Road Leads To You", the piano keys underpins Sambora's evocative vocal. It is overflowing with sincerity, vulnerability and self-awareness. The song relies on Sambora's flair for observation and experience where he pulls it all together at the end fades out as he plays the melody solo on an acoustic bringing the intimacy to a head. The song's production has a cinematic feel, capturing a star struck lover trying to come to terms with the regrets from the past and the battles of the present.

People often talk about “characters” that embody art, but these songs are not character sketches of the disenchanted, they are private confessionals from Sambora himself. Never once do you feel that Sambora is talking down to his audience from a podium, but rather he’s in the thick of the pit with us, lifting his shirt to show us his battle scars. On the album’s eleven songs he unleashes a beast and pairs them with swift, razor-edged arrangements that do more than preach optimism, but force the listener to not just get in the car, but to be acutely aware of the rearview mirror, because no matter how far and wide we may drive, the past is always there. It is this intellectual realization where Sambora acknowledges and tackles his struggles that makes Lowdown such a engaging and endearing album. I would not have wanted to endure his tests in recent years and yet, hearing his woes and survival tactics makes me feel less alone, less afraid and more determined to tackle all tragedies that have and will befall me. He takes us to a fragile place where there is no community to sustain us and a clear and informed resolution must be made in order to carry on. Aftermath of the Lowdown is a celebrated artistic declaration capturing the ecstasies and agonies of Sambora’s life and it more than a consequential tale of endurance but represents explicitly how our bewilderment can be turned into an avowal of tenacity. Richie Sambora’s reward is the clear conscience he carries knowing that his hard fought battles were not in vain and the listener's reward is an album full of hard fought truths and lessons for us to behold.

Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMUSIC Network. His daily writings can be read at The Screen Door. He can be contacted at tonyk AT antiMUSIC DOT com and can be followed on Twitter

The Good Lovelies 'Lie Down' music video

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Here's a comment from "Anonymous" that I received about The Good Lovelies and Red Molly (two of my absolute favorites (tied at #1 1/2) performing together. One of the things I hope to see in this lifetime is to see Red Molly and The Good Lovelies together. I can just imagine what that show would be like. I may have done "Anonymous" one better. I've already seen Red Molly from the front row, and, in about a month, I get to see The Good Lovelies also from the FRONT ROW. Can't wait! Go here for more info: http://www.goodlovelies.com/

Anonymous said...
Oh yeah, As I was raving about Red Molly the other day, I forgot to mention this group the Good Lovelies. They played the Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival along with RM and shared a lot of the same stages, sometimes together with RM. They are the Canadian version of Red Molly and every bit as good. They had a good time with RM and their rapport was awesome. Well worth listening to live and on their cds. Oh yeah, the 6 part mix of harmonies and instruments were just great when the groups were on stage together.

Box Set Review: Paul Simon's 'Graceland' [25th Anniversary]

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Paul Simon-‘Graceland’ 25th Anniversary Box Set 
Album and Reissue Review 
****1/2 [4.5 Stars] 
By Anthony Kuzminski
[BUY THE BOX SET HERE]
[Published in conjunction with the antiMUSIC Network]

During 1986 and 1987 the pop music landscape was breathtaking and far more varied than anyone gives it credit for. Many dismiss it for being an era that relished big melodies and crystalline production aesthetics, but what made the latter part of the 1980’s so enlivening was how much divergent and diverse music there was to get lost in. Music was undergoing a colossal change as new genres like thrash metal and rap began to emerge while other established artists infused their sounds lassoing several genres in ways no one had envisioned before, notably U2, Peter Gabriel and Paul Simon, who won the Album of the Year Grammy for Graceland in early 1987. Graceland has largely endured as something more than just one of the first mainstream albums to wholly embrace world music. Simon wasn’t the first to do this, but how he went about doing it is what makes the album and its history so captivating. Up until now, Graceland has always been one of those records that I admired more than loved. It houses a true amalgamation of eclectic music which feels familiar and fresh simultaneously, a rare feat in any art form, but for some reason the album never connected to me as deeply as it possibly should. So why do I find myself suddenly enthralled with the record and its history? The recently released 25th Anniversary 4-disc box set of Graceland has not just re-introduced the record to me, but its accompanying discs present the album in a light never before imagined. This anniversary package is the definitive document on the album with the four discs encompassing its conception, birth and history in one perfect package.

The box set is housed in an oversized package which includes a recreated notepad full of partial lyrics and ideas Simon had for the album. Taking a cue from Bruce Springsteen (who housed his brilliant Darkness on the Edge of Town box set within a spiral recreated notebook), Simon has given us a glimpse into the ideas running rampant in his head as he tried to bring Graceland to life. The notebook is more than a mere souvenir with glorified liner notes, but an actual piece of history. There is also an extensive booklet of pictures with quotes from interviews, bonus interviews and videos on the DVD and a folded oversize poster of the album cover. But the real heft of this set lies in the music and DVD’s. For the purposes of this review, I will break down and review each of the four discs below.

The Remastered Album
Listening to records decades after they were initially released is a tricky proposition. Often, nostalgia directs the experience not allowing us to look past the warm fuzzy feeling it gives us in our heart to see its flaws. That being said, I was floored by the emotions that overtook me when I listened to this new remaster. As I began to listen to the joyful “The Boy in the Bubble”, I was hooked. For a record I haven’t listened to this album front to back in decades and yet I was pulled in. The title track finds middle ground between African rhythms and a Sun Records shuffle. Up to this point, no one had ever been able to intertwine world music with pop music from the Western world. It could be argued no one ever topped what Simon did on Graceland.The bass and chorus of “I Know What I Know” sounds wholly unique but the lyrics come from someone who spent a lifetime around New York while the drums pop through the speakers highlighting the new remastered touches. “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes” would have worked with Simon and an acoustic, but the Ladysmith Black Mambazo group take the song into unchartered waters (as seen by the Saturday Night Live performance included on one of the DVD’s). Much credit must be given to the core backing band of Ray Phiri on guitar, Bakithi Kumalo on bass and Isaac Mtshali on drums who form the key band members on half of the album’s tracks. The performances are so freeing and lack any type of ego, that they bring the songs an unadulterated joyfulness to them, something no studio musician probably could have delivered, no matter how talented.
Paul Simon, who received an enormous amount of flack for recording with South African musicians due to the cultural boycott due to South Africa embracing apartheid. This is the focus of the documentary Under African Skies discussed later in this review. It’s a tricky thing to look at Simon as an innocent, because he did intentionally defy the African National Congress. He went to South Africa did more than just record with these musicians- he brought them to London and New York to complete work on that album. If that wasn’t enough he went one step further and launched a tour with all of these musicians in tow. It would be too easy to dismiss Simon because you could make the argument that he brought more attention to these musicians and the music of South Africa than anyone else ever could have. Despite cutting through red tape, more than a quarter of a century later it’s hard to imagine Graceland being the same record without these musicians. Graceland has never sounded better than it does on this new remaster. It appears to have been touched up for the 21st Century without blemishing it and sacrificing the bottom end for increased volume on the MP3. This is a rare album worth the upgrade based on the album alone, but as you’re about to see, there is much more worth seeking out.

The Bonus CD
The two audio CD’s are not full of an immense amount of bounty like some reissues of late, however, while alternate mixes and even a live album or acoustic versions would have been nice (Amazon.com has an exclusive five-track live CD from Spain included with the box), what is included I so spot on and perfect, you can’t help but think anything else would have been superfluous. The bonus disc has demos for “Homeless”, “Crazy Love” and “You Can Call Me Al”, an alternate take of “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes” and an early version of “All Around the World or the Myth of Fingerprints”. While the second disc may appear to be slim, it’s startling to hear. “Homeless” is a bare demo with his vocals and an acoustic guitar and is a stark contrast to the final product that wound up on Graceland. An extensive sequence in the documentary featuring the demo can be seen as they show the evolution of the song. While appearing as a bonus cut on an earlier reissue, it has added weight here due to the documentary. The early version of “All Around the World or The Myth of Fingerprints” has an accordion, heavy rhythm guitar and what sounds like what may be a drum machine. There is an instrumental demo of “You Can Call Me Al” and “Crazy Love” which are both missing the breezy punch that group gave the back of the track. This is an important lesson to take from this collection and this review. Sometimes, it is worth you time and energy to craft a song and push it along as far as you can. There is something to be said about not simply releasing your first draft. The final track is “The Story of ‘Graceland” which finds Simon narrating anecdote and stories about the making of the album, which stands alone from the documentary.

Graceland: The African Concert
This concert film was a main stay on the VHS Music Video Charts in the late 1980’s when music home video releases were reserved only for acts whose record sales were in the millions. Amazingly, the concert is receiving its first release on DVD. It’s a wonderful representation of this album in a live environment and is notable for taking place in Zimbabwe which was a homecoming of sorts for musicians Hugh Masekela and Miriam Makeba who left South Africa and had not returned until this tour. The concert doesn’t contain the encores of Simon and Garfunkel songs but is otherwise a complete record of what the tour was like back then. I’m not sure as to what level of mastering was done in bringing the film to DVD. While it looks good, much of the footage looks dated, however, it’s watchable and while there are no bonus features, it’s integral to the overall story of Graceland as Simon showed the world he could do more than create a record merging the music of clashing cultures, but he took it on the road and invigorated the world further in an audience that appears to have no cultural barriers.
Under African Skies Film Review
The most integral part of this reissue and box set is the new documentary, Under African Skies which was directed by Oscar nominee Joe Berlinger whose credits include the Paradise Lost trilogy and Metallica: Some Kind of Monster. The film completes the circle of the box set and the album. It’s a revealing and riveting look at more than just the Paul Simon and his music but the trouble he encountered by breaking a cultural boycott by going to record with musicians in South Africa. More than twenty-five years later, this may seem to be a minute detail, but the apartheid regime of South Africa was a very big deal in 1986. The repercussions as a result of going there, recording with the musicians and then touring with them led to bomb threats and repeated controversies throughout the tour. To the credit of the film, it does not shy away from any of this. It faces it head on and it’s why this is more than your standard documentary. The film shows vintage footage of Simon recording the album and it’s paired with new interviews and rehearsal footage of where he reunited with the Graceland band last year. The current day rehearsals and performances while nice to see, don’t service the film as strongly as the archive footage paired with new interviews, which trace his creation of the songs that appear on Graceland. One element of the documentary I found fascinating was how Simon recorded the basic tracks with the musicians in South Africa without having any lyrics. I’ve always been in awe of anyone who writes music first and saves the lyrics for later because this increases the workload and makes the job ten times harder. He spoke about how “Graceland” was just a word he put in place until he could change it, until he realized it wasn’t going away and how the music took him on a journey he could not have foreseen. One never imagines how much time, energy and hard work goes into creating music. More importantly, it shows how determined Simon was to create something truly lasting.
One of the aspects of this box set that is so downright staggering is how it encompasses the entire journey of Graceland. The demo disc captures the songs at their birth, the album is in many ways a toddler, on the live concert DVD we are able to watch these songs find their footing and expand to limits and boundaries beyond the record and finally on the gripping documentary Under African Skies it covers the thirty year history of not just the songs, but Paul Simon’s journey, struggle and redemption. Watching to the documentary and the bonus cut of “The Story of ‘Graceland’ (Told by Paul Simon) makes you appreciate the album in ways not imaginable. This is a tall order for a top-five record who won the Grammy for Album of the Year. To me, Graceland isn’t so much an album where Paul Simon took a detour, but a collection of songs representing the possibilities of pop music. There are new and inventive ways to tell a story and sometimes a voice and acoustic guitar will suffice, but sometimes you have to spice up the recipe to capture not just acclaim, but a wider audience as well. With Graceland Paul Simon reminded himself (and us) that great art is created from stepping outside of your comfort zone and taking a chance.
 
Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network. His daily writings can be read at The Screen Door. He can be contacted at tonyk AT antiMUSIC DOT com and can be followed on Twitter

Concert Review: Peter Gabriel - Chicago 9/27/2012 'So' Anniversary Tour

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Peter Gabriel
Concert Review: Chicago, IL- United Center 
September 27, 2012
By Anthony Kuzminski

[Published in conjunction with the antiMUSIC Network]

[Buy the deluxe edition of So HERE]

Six songs into Peter Gabriel’s concert at the United Center in Chicago, the drum loop of “Secret World” built dramatic tension usually reserved for a cinematic thriller. In the two decades since “Secret World” appeared on Us in 1992, it’s a song that hasn’t lit up radio dials, but anyone who has witnessed Peter Gabriel in concert knows it’s a defining moment of any show. As Gabriel whispered “shhh” into his microphone, the few remaining in their seats stood up because they were intrinsically aware something magical was about to happen. Gabriel’s longtime guitarist David Rhodes tickled his guitar strings and took the song into a muscular musical terrain that matched the concentration of Gabriel’s lyrics and themes. On his 1992 blistering first person narrative Us Gabriel took us beneath the surface of beauty into a confused and bleeding soul yearning for compassion and understanding. He has always matched these deeply personal declarations with some of the most bracing arrangements imaginable. Throughout his twenty-one song set on the Back To Front tour, Gabriel revisited these themes time and time again and the striking lyric imagery was only matched by the steely musical arrangements. No other living musician has a body of work that provides a more absorbing emotional pull. I always try to find something in an artist’s work I can wrap not just my mind around, but more importantly, my heart. Every time Peter Gabriel stands behind a microphone, he goes deeper than anyone dares. He digs up memories from the past, makes us acknowledge the battle scars and encourages us to find a way to heal. Despite the fact that his current tour is behind a record more than a quarter of a century old, Peter Gabriel concerts are places we go in the hopes that when we leave, we walk away a better person with a tighter grasp on the mysteries that often keep us from attaining greatness.

When Peter Gabriel took to the United Center stage, it was inconspicuous as he simply walked up to the microphone to talk to the audience with the house lights still on. He explained the show would take place over three segments- an acoustic one, a full band electric performance and then his seminal 1986 album So in its entirety. He then welcomed longtime bass player Tony Levin and the two of them debuted a new and unfinished song “OBUT” which is most likely in its early stages of development. As Gabriel finished singing behind a big baby grand piano, he welcomed the other five musicians who would join them on the stage. What differentiates this backing band from previous tours is the core band consists of the same five individuals who toured behind So in 1986 and 1987 along with Jennie Abrahamson and Linnea Olsson on backing vocals. With the band onstage, they delivered a pair of acoustic songs reverberated throughout the arena – “Come Talk To Me” and “Shock the Monkey” the latter of which brought the entire arena to their feet and clapped along. His first US Top-40 hit enlivens regardless of the presentation. The sweeping “Family Snapshot” began with Gabriel behind the piano and as the band fully synthesized chemistry came to fruition and kicked in full force, the arena went dark to great effect and the electric portion of the set took off. The subconscious metallic “Digging in the Dirt” flourished under the direction of the tight band, the jaunty and joyous “Solsbury Hill” received a enormous endorsement from the crowd but it was the somber “Washing of the Water” which probably provided the crowd the evening’s most startling look in the mirror. Listening to “Washing of the Water” makes you want to crawl back into the womb as his vocals exude such wisdom and warmth. The lyrics are poetic and paired with the solemn musical arrangements that make you mourn and celebrate all the same. As he crooned, “Bring me something, to take this pain away” at the songs conclusion, it took great strength to hold back to emotions within. Who has not felt alone and despondent? Yet because we know others feel alike, there is a sense of reassurance knowing we are not alone.
One of the reasons Peter Gabriel tours are events are not just because they are infrequent, but because of the vision he brings to the stage. Despite fewer theatrics this time out, five crane-operated lights provided a sprawling design of shadows and light throughout the entire show. “The Family and the Fishing Net” and “No Self Control” found the crew manning the lights in a circular fashion giving the screens on opposite ends of the stage a arresting visual most appreciated by the crowd in the upper rafters. If the performances were not enough, Gabriel gave the crowd the impression of being inside its own music video. The circular prop at the top of the lighting rig encapsulated Gabriel during the encore performance of the Ovo track “The Tower That Ate People” and as imposing as all these tricks were, it never once took away from the music. Peter Gabriel has always been a visually remarkable audience going back to his days with Genesis, but what makes his non-musical achievements so grand is they always matched the music and his current stage design is no different.

Peter Gabriel has always been a peculiar artist, never following trends or concerning himself with what other people think. Virtually no one would have their greatest commercial success and wait six years to follow it up as he did. Further, no one would wait another ten for the next one. Everything he dedicates himself to will not see the light of day until he feels it is ready. There is no science to his artistry and while this can be maddening for fans like me, I understand it. He carries not just his career in the balance, but the breadth of his work as well. There is a reason his work is an emotional tour de force traveling straight into your heart and psyche like no one else would dare. After writing, producing, recording and touring his records he most likely is physically and emotionally depleted. Yet every release is the embodiment of several years work from his studio work, side projects, soundtrack work to his upcoming six-disc mammoth box set celebrating the 25th anniversary of So. For a man who rarely looks to the past, this is a unusual choice and touring behind it is even more curious, especially when the tour consists of sixteen total dates with no further ones planned. It does not really matter why he is touring now, all I can tell you are that it is highly likely it will not return, so see it while you can.

So is one of the most vital records not just of the 1980s but also from the last thirty years. It’s every bit of a cultural touchstone as Paul Simon’s Graceland and more than a quarter of a century later, every last note sounds timeless. So how did it hold up in concert? Spectacularly well. Gabriel assembled the same five-piece core band who toured with him from the start of the So tour in 1986-87. Guitarist David Rhodes and bassist/ stickman Tony Levin predated the So tour and have been next to Gabriel ever since. Drummer Manu Katché adds slight touches to the rhythm matching the undercurrent of Tony Levin’s imposing bass. Keyboardist David Sancious brought many of the songs to life with broad-brush strokes of his keys while Jennie Abrahamson and Linnea Olsson flawlessly accentuated each song with their lilting vocals helping Gabriel’s own soar without ever overpowering them. You can only take a new batch of songs on the road once and see them flourish under the dark of night with transporting the audience. So is the album and tour that defined Gabriel and seeing him back onstage with the same musicians is something to not take lightly. The seven musicians on the stage are a force to be reckoned with. The performance of So was an unearthly experience. While Gabriel is not the first artist to perform an album top-to-bottom, few have done it better. So remains beautiful and timeless and the performance was spellbinding as Gabriel went into the inner child of each audience member and the band replicated the exotic music to pinpoint perfection. Manu Katché’s drums busted to life on “Big Time” and delivered knock-outs on “Sledgehammer” and “That Voice Again” while Sancious found the perfect hue for “Red Rain”, “Mercy Street”, “This is the Picture” and of course “In Your Eyes” for which there are no words. It is more than a song, but a cultural touchstone for most of the audience and will most likely be the song Peter Gabriel is remembered for decades from now. The band stridently did this material justice in ways they have never done before which is a feat all unto itself.

Beneath the extraordinary musicianship, the hits, the cinéma vérité lighting and videos there was a crowd who for at least one night was reawaken to the intricate matters of our minds. I speak of this ad nauseum in my reviews not because I believe art is essentially a mirror to our fears and desires. By going over it with a fine toothcomb there is something philosophical and weighty not just to be found but experienced. During the evening’s final song, “Biko”, Gabriel and his band did not just overpower the audience, but were the soundtrack to a world that is ever changing. Manu Katché’s drums kept the beat, as the band and audience became one with their “oh-oh-ohhh” chants, which continued as each musician left the stage one-by-one until only Katché was left with the big beat. When that final note was struck, he left the stage and in the darkness, the “oh-oh-ohhh” chants continued. This was not a mere call-and-response, but a call to arms in hopes the chant will last long after the house lights go on. The power of art has always had the potential to make us greater than who we think we can be. Listening to Peter Gabriel is as if we have been blessed with a guide from above who will help us make sense of the chaos and injustice in this world, but within as well. He has shown us the way, given us the tools and now it is up to us to make the change. The 2012 Back To Front tour is a celebration not just of the So record but a deep invigorating evening full of soul searching tales brought to life by a buoyant band who is every bit as good as they were twenty-five years ago.

Peter Gabriel will be on tour through October 14. It is unlikely there will be further dates added before 2014, so this is a must-see ticket. The six-disc anniversary edition of So will arrive in stores on October 23.

Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network. His daily writings can be read at The Screen Door. He can be contacted at tonyk AT antiMUSIC DOT com and can be followed on Twitter

Richie Sambora - 'Afftermath of the Lowdown' album review now on antiMUSIC

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It took me a while, but you can now read my bit in-depth review of Richie Sambora's Aftermath of the Lowdown over at antiMUSIC at THIS LINK  . It will appear here in full in a few days.

Here's a sample:

On the album's eleven songs he unleashes a beast and pairs them with swift, razor-edged arrangements that do more than preach optimism, but force the listener to not just get in the car, but to be acutely aware of the rearview mirror, because no matter how far and wide we may drive, the past is always there. It is this intellectual realization where Sambora acknowledges and tackles his struggles that makes Lowdown such a engaging and endearing album. I would not have wanted to endure his tests in recent years and yet, hearing his woes and survival tactics makes me feel less alone, less afraid and more determined to tackle all tragedies that have and will befall me. He takes us to a fragile place where there is no community to sustain us and a clear and informed resolution must be made in order to carry on. Aftermath of the Lowdownis a celebrated artistic declaration capturing the ecstasies and agonies of Sambora's life and it more than a consequential tale of endurance but represents explicitly how our bewilderment can be turned into an avowal of tenacity. Richie Sambora's reward is the clear conscience he carries knowing that his hard fought battles were not in vain and the listener's reward is an album full of hard fought truths and lessons for us to behold.

Album Review: Richie Sambora - 'Aftermath of the Lowdown' [4-Stars]

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Richie Sambora-‘Aftermath of the Lowdown’ 
Album Review 
Four-Stars (****) 
By Anthony Kuzminski
[Published in conjunction with the antiMUSIC Network]

Buy the album HERE

Life at its most distressing can take an unanticipated tragic turn forever altering our given path. In these moments of tribulation, there is always the chance that we will forever lose a piece of ourselves. Some find a way to endure and others fall into an infinite pit of despondency, never being able to view life in the same tint again. Finding a passageway to what once was is not an option and what seems like an endless untraveled road is all that is in front of us. The loss of a job, divorce, death of a parent or child and the incapacity to tame personal demons forever alters lives. It is easier to fade away than to find your way home without a map, but those who make the journey will not just survive the next obstacle, but thrive under future duress. Listening to Aftermath of the Lowdown, the third solo record from Richie Sambora, it is evident that life took him down unanticipated roads over the last decade. Sambora’s world has changed considerably- his daughter is now a teenager, his marriage is no more, his father passed away and there have been widely documented personal struggles that I don’t need to mention, because Sambora tackles these demons head-on on Aftermath of the Lowdown. Those who view Sambora solely as Jon Bon Jovi’s co-conspirator are in for a revelation on Lowdown where the guitarist takes his audience to a wounded and fragile place rarely found on Bon Jovi records. The eleven songs that encompass Aftermath of the Lowdown look the listener straight in the eye creating an intimacy that hasn’t been heard from the Bon Jovi camp since the last set of solo outings in 1997 and 1998 on Jon’s Destination Anywhere and Sambora’s Undiscovered Soul. The band and their music have taken on simpler dimensions over the ensuing decade with thick-punching riffs fueled by universal lyrics of resolve. While the pop-metal-country flavors are ready-made for radio dials and shaking stadiums, Sambora has cast a smaller net with a prominence on personal reflection in an outspoken spiritual workout.

Over three solo ventures, Richie Sambora has taken his audience into his psyche at different turning points in his life. His 1991 debut, Stranger in this Town was the culmination of a life work. It was a money shot of personal expression. He held nothing back on that record and with thirty-million in record sales in less than five years, he did not have to follow typical record company creed, he earned his artistic freedom. The ten songs that encompass Stranger have blues, hymnals, pining love songs and off-the-wall lusting soundscapes. Containing songs written from when he was nineteen (“The Answer”) through the age of thirty-one (“Ballad of Youth”). The record did not sell like previous Bon Jovi records, but the fans often view it as a magnum opus with a wall full of colorful sounds and more importantly a declaration of tenacity. Sambora took his audience into his world and as you sat in the dark with a candle lit, when the final note rang from “The Answer” you felt as if you had taken on a life’s journey through dark passages and roads of hope. His next solo disc appeared seven years later, Undiscovered Soul and Sambora constructed another eclectic set of songs digging into his classic rock influences. A lot had changed between his first and second solo records; he married Heather Locklear, went through his richest spell of creativity with Bon Jovi and became a father. The optimistic mood infected Undiscovered Soul and tinted it with rays of light not on Stranger. However, the album came out without promotion- it was as if it never existed. However, the title cut, “Fallen From Graceland” and the jagged guitar lullaby for his daughter “You’re Not Alone” brewed with expressive vigor. Shortly thereafter, Richie and Jon Bon Jovi began writing in earnest for their 2000 release Crush, which contained “It’s My Life”, the song that took the band to new commercial and sales heights. Since then, the Bon Jovi machine has barely taken a breath and as of this writing, they have a new record ready for release in early 2013. Another solo record was always an option, but Sambora handled its creation delicately. After the lack of interest from his label on Undiscovered Soul Sambora managed to negotiate a release from Universal for Lowdown which being released by Dangerbird Records, home of the Silversun Pickups and Butch Walker.

Sambora’s previous efforts were co-produced by men with rich classic rock roots. Neil Dorfsman had made his name working with Paul McCartney and Sting while Don Was is responsible for Bonnie Raitt’s comeback and everything the Rolling Stones have recorded going back to Voodoo Lounge. For Lowdown Sambora returned to a familiar face, Luke Ebbin, who was an unknown a little more than a decade back when he was unexpectedly brought onboard to produce Crush. Ebbin has never received his due for taking the Bon Jovi sound into the 21st century. His work on Crush gave Bon Jovi a fresh modern sound and more importantly, it validated that Bon Jovi still had rock n’ roll flowing through their veins. Ebbin was on board for the follow-up, Bounce in 2002, which is widely considered the band’s weakest effort. I do not blame the production on that record, but rather the song choices, overriding themes and sequencing. To his credit, the band shines luminously on two cuts, the rev-up rocker “Hook Me Up” and the best modern day ballad the band has recorded, “The Distance” where Sambora’s guitars fluctuate like a skipping heartbeat. On Lowdown Ebbin helped bring out the quiet menace living within Sambora’s heart and mind. The sound of the record is exhilarating ear candy from the get-in-the-ring assault of “Burn That Candle Down” to the solemn prayer “World” that closes the record.

“Burn That Candle Down” opens the record in a tsunami of musical explosion as Sambora steers his band towards into a torrential musical breakdown where Prince takes on Jack White. His vocals are mixed in with the serrated performance giving the listener a mono feel as they experience one gargantuan and unrefined jam. Sequencing this cut at the front of the album was deliberate. Bon Jovi is a band whose sound as a live band has always surpassed their records, and this is the best document of what they're capable as musicians from the Bon Jovi camp since 1995’s These Days. Much can be said about the backing band that Sambora assembled for the album. Aaron Sterling brings an energetic liveliness to the drums, Matt Rollings colors the songs with his organ and piano, Curt Schneider holds the line on bass, Rusty Anderson (best known for touring with Paul McCartney for over a decade) compliments Sambora with additional guitar while Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. embellishes the songs with his lovely keyboards. They never overshadow the songs, but vigorously threw themselves into the performances giving each song a well assembled sound that feel more like a band in a bar than an overproduced pop record.
The music housed within Lowdown distills decades worth of influences and largely defies categorization. Sambora knows his way around a song and here on Aftermath his songwriting talent flourishes in ways few could have imagined while the minimalist approach to the instrumentation helps bring the emotional pacing to a hopeful climax. The album is a rhapsodic blend of his musical personalities from the blues to rock to soul to pop but one continual influence I hear is Paul McCartney. The rehearsal room jams checks McCartney's first two solo records (McCartney and Ram) while sentimental and simple cuts such as "World" and "I’ll Always Walk Beside You" tread tricky waters. The messages in these two songs are far and wide and could easily be dismissed but Sambora sings each song with such earthy earnestness, you cannot help but be seduced. The production on these two particular songs brings out their best without driving them off a cliff into pop hell. This is notable, because they could have easily been overproduced. A prayer to our planet (“World”) is not the type of thing a rocker should do and it could be mocked, but it works because the message is not as heavy handed with his voice and a few guitars. "I’ll Always Walk Beside You" is a valiant proclamation of love from a musician who grasps and comprehends the substantial experiences of our lives. Sometimes all we need is someone to place a hand on our shoulder reminding us that tomorrow will be better. Even a song like “Weathering the Storm” which may have a few clunky lyrics is redeemed by a searing guitar solo and Sambora’s ambition and need for expression.

My favorite records are ones where the artist draws back the curtain to let me into their world. When you listen to Blood on the Tracks by Bob Dylan the doubt and confusion of a relationship that is ending is felt. Peter Gabriel’s 1992 Us takes the listener on a heart rendering journey through jigsaw puzzle of musical styles where through poetry and world music he deconstructs the failing relationships around him from his broken communication with his daughter (“Come Talk To Me”) to a relationship doomed due to a shared inability to converse and understand (“Secret World”). It is one thing to convey ache and another to outline the moment of awakening where you realize you have the key to your cell. As the world watched Sambora trouble in dealing with his pain in a very public manner, we all wondered when he had that moment of realization where his troubles caught up with him. The answer is clearer than ever on “You Can Only Get So High”, a spellbinding confessional unpinned by melancholy piano keys. Deeply personal and haunting, you hear years of tumult come into focus as it hangs out there like a never ending breeze that reminding you of the trappings of not just success but life. He does not hold back from delivering a few punches to himself in a song full of forthright and sincere observations. He may have more money than I could earn in ten lifetimes, but by letting us inside, the ache is irrefutable. “Seven Years Gone” is an inner confrontation where toughness is balanced with tenderness yielding another masterful moment of awakening. On the volcanic "Learnin' How to Fly with a Broken Wing" Sambora and his unhinged band erupt into a poignant purge as the rubber burns on an open road where despite being battered, there is perpetual optimism. The finale of “Seven Years Gone” and “Broken Wing” showcases his rip-roaring six-string traits better than any song he's performed on since "Next 100 Years" from Crush.On the album's first single, "Every Road Leads To You", the piano keys underpins Sambora's evocative vocal. It is overflowing with sincerity, vulnerability and self-awareness. The song relies on Sambora's flair for observation and experience where he pulls it all together at the end fades out as he plays the melody solo on an acoustic bringing the intimacy to a head. The song's production has a cinematic feel, capturing a star struck lover trying to come to terms with the regrets from the past and the battles of the present.

People often talk about “characters” that embody art, but these songs are not character sketches of the disenchanted, they are private confessionals from Sambora himself. Never once do you feel that Sambora is talking down to his audience from a podium, but rather he’s in the thick of the pit with us, lifting his shirt to show us his battle scars. On the album’s eleven songs he unleashes a beast and pairs them with swift, razor-edged arrangements that do more than preach optimism, but force the listener to not just get in the car, but to be acutely aware of the rearview mirror, because no matter how far and wide we may drive, the past is always there. It is this intellectual realization where Sambora acknowledges and tackles his struggles that makes Lowdown such a engaging and endearing album. I would not have wanted to endure his tests in recent years and yet, hearing his woes and survival tactics makes me feel less alone, less afraid and more determined to tackle all tragedies that have and will befall me. He takes us to a fragile place where there is no community to sustain us and a clear and informed resolution must be made in order to carry on. Aftermath of the Lowdown is a celebrated artistic declaration capturing the ecstasies and agonies of Sambora’s life and it more than a consequential tale of endurance but represents explicitly how our bewilderment can be turned into an avowal of tenacity. Richie Sambora’s reward is the clear conscience he carries knowing that his hard fought battles were not in vain and the listener's reward is an album full of hard fought truths and lessons for us to behold.

Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMUSIC Network. His daily writings can be read at The Screen Door. He can be contacted at tonyk AT antiMUSIC DOT com and can be followed on Twitter

"We must try to contribute joy to the world" - Roger Ebert

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Roger Ebert – ‘Life Itself’ 
Book ReviewFive-Stars (*****) 
Review By Anthony Kuzminski 
[Published in conuncton with the antiMUSIC Network]

 “I will write this book only once and might as well not make it fiction.”

Roger Ebert is a man who relishes the art of film. His reviews are like no other and he’s largely viewed as the pre-eminent writer of film criticism of the not just the last century but this one as well. Despite losing his voice, he’s anything but silent. He’s taken to the web to transform not just his writing, but film criticism as well. In a day and age where lengthy reviews have been overlooked for sound-bytes and hundred-word reviews, Ebert is writing not just more than ever before, but better than anyone could have imagined. With his absence from television, those who still value his opinion must see out his writing which has blossomed in ways no one ever could have imagined and the fruit of these labors are in his autobiography, Life Itself, one of the best modern biographies to ever be written.

Writing about music means a slew of rock God biographies are continually sent my way and while they’re enthralling historical documents and often give the reader a certain perspective, we also are given a glimpse into their egocentric minds. A rock star acts like a child for a few decades before they settle down, make amends for their past and finish their book with a new look on life. Roger Ebert’s book opens with a untainted view of the world and as he takes us down the corridors of his life, he shares dreams, desires and darkness but above all, he shows us a road map for making the most out of life. Ebert is an acute narrator fully aware of not just the intricacies of existence, but the gloom and glory that go hand-in-hand with it. Roger Ebert’s Life Itself is one of the greatest biographies to ever be written because it is devoid of ego. Stepping into the past is a dangerous and treacherous road for many who write autobiographies. They wallow in it without regard for the reader. Not everyone’s childhood warrants to be documented. That being said, what differentiates Ebert from most film and music stars is that he’s a professional writer…one of the greatest of the last forty years.

Ebert outlines his journey, never hiding his feelings or falsifying the past in order to credit himself. When he was selfish, stupid and just wrong, he flat out admits it. His tales from Champaign, Illinois aren't selfish, but stoic and from there no stone goes unturned. He talks about the pain of losing his father while still a teen, the bottomless pit he felt when his trusty dog had died, the rush from writing sports articles for the local press, the high school crushes, a professor he let down once by criticizing his work, being overweight, his first job in Chicago, to his overseas studies, to a woman who had lied to him about being pregnant, to his long walks throughout London his extreme love for his wife Chaz and the friendships that painted his journey and give the narrative philosophical color. The tales of friendships are among the most profound. You've never heard of many of these people but you wish you could have dinner with them.The embarrassments, the humiliations and the accomplishments are so real, you half forget you are reading someone else’s story. This is Ebert’s brilliance, he peppers his stories with enough nuances to make him his own, but they’re easily relate-able to anyone who has ever left a breath escape from their lips. Most people famous enough to write their own biography have this barrier between them and their audience. This is only natural after years in the limelight and having press agents and assistants doing the heavy lifting allowing the star to always keep their distance. Ebert’s famous enough to be recognized by anyone who ever went to see a film between 1980 and 2000 and yet, he’s still a humble and kind man. The film directors and stars who invaded his mind and heart get proper due here as well. He speaks in awe of the late movie greats like Robert Mitchum and Lee Marvin, whereas when he writes about directors Martin Scorsese and Werner Herzog, there is a brotherly bond there. Most biographies find the subject pointing fingers at those who had done them wrong and made them suffer. Ebert’s book doesn't waste time on these people, instead it is about those who have enlightened his life.

There is a wonderful chapter on his relationship with Gene Siskel where he breaks down the differences between the two of them and a desire to always one-up the other. However, despite this fierce competition and the on-screen combating, deep down, there was more than respect, there was love. I spend a good amount of time hearing pitches from press agents and publishers about biographies they want me to write about. They’re usually about a star who lived in excess, is stabbing a former friend in the back or wallowing about their misfortune. These stories make for good reads, but how many can you remember months later? How many stick with you? How many permeate your senses with a tale of hope and redemption? Do any provide a road map for the future? I have now read Life Itself three times. Each and every chapter of Life Itself is infused with a silver lining. He spends a good amount of the book reminiscing about the good old day of journalism, aged movie theaters, little European hotels and Chicago greasy spoons that have gone out of business. But in each one, while lined with nostalgia, the reader picks up on the zest he has for life which comes to a head in the book’s final chapter.

There is a passage so insightful in the book’s final pages, I feel it is my duty to reprint it here in full because it is simply one of dozens of passages that give the reader lenses to view the world in a brighter light.

“’Kindness’ covers all of my political beliefs. No need to spell them out. I believe that if, at the end, according to our abilities we have done something to make others a little happier, and something to make ourselves a little happier, that is about the best we can do. To make others less happy is a crime. To make ourselves unhappy is where all crime starts. We must try to contribute joy to the world. That is true no matter what our problems, our health, our circumstances. We must try. I didn't always know this and I am happy I lived long enough to find it out.”

Most art finds a way of bringing your dreams to life whereas Life Itself paints a picture of one’s existence that is better than a dream. It’s one thing to allow your imagination to take you away to a place where you view life through different lenses, but it’s another entirely to find such euphoric wonder in the banalities of life. The rare few who can do this…Springsteen, Scorsese and Roger Ebert-they’re the artists we learn the most from. They don’t make us reach higher and father so much as make us realize the fortunes that have befallen us and that our dreams are living and breathing in the here and now. When you close the book upon reading the final words, you will feel whole in ways you've never felt before. He doesn't review life as an burden, instead he believes there is transcendence to be found in every facet of life, which if we bring closer for a deeper inspection, it will free our minds. I honestly believe with all my heart that Life Itself is more than a defining biography but one of the most life affirming books you will ever read.

Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMUSIC Network. His daily writings can be read at The Screen Door. He can be contacted at tonyk AT antiMUSIC DOT com and can be followed on Twitter