Bloggerhythms

The ondioline is an electronic instrument invented in France by Georges Jenny in 1939, and it's considered to be a predecessor to modern day synthesizers as early models ran on analog circuits and vacuum tubes. Later, in the 1960s, transistors replaced the tubes. Ondiolines possess a three octave keyboard that uses a knob to expand it's range up to eight octaves. It can maufacture its own sounds or simulate other instruments. Jenny made most ondiolines himself and he refused to mass produce his invention, so it appears that no more were made after his passing in 1975. Until now, I've knowingly only listened to the ondioline twice in my entire life. A recent repurchase of the classic, 1968  Super Session  album by Mike Bloomfield, Al Kooper and Stephen Stills stirred my curiosity, so I researched the instrument. Previously, I knew nothing about this mostly forgotten keyboard other than Kooper played it on that album's "His Holy Modal Majesty" a

Last Night In Hamburg   -   a bootleg, German CD released in 1999 - appears to be the exact same performance as Live At The Star Club In Hamburg, Germany, 1962 , a double LP initially released in 1977. This 1999, 65-minute disc comes in a digipak from a company named RockCartoon with liner notes and some very cool artwork. This last ever Beatles show in Hamburg before they became worldwide phenomenons was recorded on a homemade, reel-to-reel tape recorder by English producer Adrian Barber who also produced The Allman Brothers Band's eponymous debut. He also worked with Aretha Franklin, Velvet Underground, Buffalo Springfield, The Rascals and Bee Gees. Barber was there, on New Year's Eve, December 31, 1962 - the night this concert was recorded - to help management improve the club's sound system. The poor quality of Barber's recording makes it a very substandard listening experience. The disc is only for the most diehard Beatle fans like me and for c

The Roamers play a good kind of country music, the kind that is unmistakably country but is heavily dosed with rock 'n roll. Trade out the lap and pedal steel guitars for something heavier, and remove the twang from bassist, lead singer and songwriter Matt Rice's voice and you'll have completely crossed over into that louder and more youthful genre. It shows you how closely related the two popular and seemingly disparate styles of music really are. Rice describes The Roamers as a collective rather than a band. "The reason I named it The Roamers is because the members/players kinda roam in and out of the band depending on what day, week or month it is. There are a lot of us involved, and it's rare that we can all get together at the same time. On this concise, eponymous, eleven song, debut Rice is the bassist, Brian Whelan plays guitars and all keyboards, Luke Adams is the drummer and percussionist, and Matt Pynn contribut

The Honeydrippers, Volume One sounds nothing like Led Zeppelin, but Robert Plant said he loved working on this five-song EP more than any other music he ever recorded. The Honeydrippers were organized after the demise of Zeppelin to fulfill Plant's desire to work in a band with a heavy rhythm and blues foundation, so he became involved with an already existing R&B covers band. Then he brought in some famous friends to help out, including Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, and Nile Rodgers of Chic to play guitar. Paul Shaffer from David Letterman's band added piano. Rodgers also served as co-producer. Volume One reached #5 on the American Billboard 200 albums chart. A cover of "Sea Of Love" from the EP went to #3 on the Hot 100, but the highlight of the sessions was a #25 hit, "Rockin' At Midnight," a remake of "Good Rocking Tonight," an old song originally released by composer Roy Brown in 1947. Some music historians consider

Below is a partially rewritten article from 2012 that I'm reposting today due to the sad passing of singer-songwriter and actor, J. D. Souther. John David Souther has always been a much loved songwriter despite the fact he didn't have an extensive catalog of his own recorded music. There are only seven solo, studio albums in his name since 1972, but he always had a lot of success penning tunes for others, most notably the California soft-rockers of the 70s. Souther wrote for and with many of music's top flight acts including Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, James Taylor, Jimmy Buffett, Glen Campbell, The Chicks, India.Arie, Roy Orbison, Warren Zevon, Brian Wilson, and especially Eagles. He also played in the Souther, Hillman, Furay Band during the same decade with Chris Hillman (The Byrds, Flying Burrito Brothers, and The Desert Rose Band) and Richie Furay (Buffalo Springfield and Poco). Souther's reputation as a songwriter rather than a pe

Diana Krall has always been underrated as a pianist. I've always loved her playing more than her singing, and that's saying a lot. On  Live In Paris , a twelve song album with eleven tracks recorded in concert at the Paris Olympia in November and December 2001 Krall is fully utilizing both of her superlative talents. Krall's band includes outstanding guitar work from Anthony Wilson with John Clayton on bass and Jeff Hamilton on drums. They're accompanied by Orchestre Symphonique European conducted by Alan Broadbent on "Let's Fall In Love" and "I've Got You Under My Skin." This concert mostly features straight-ahead, mainstream jazz and ballads from the Great American Songbook plus a couple of newer tunes.   Krall gets to show off her piano chops by churning up a great groove on "East Of The Sun (And West Of The Moon)" and "Devil May Care," proving that she can hang with the best jazzm

If you're a fan of inward looking folk-rockers with appealing but earthy baritone voices you need to look no further than  Lessons , David Luning 's new album. Luning is one of those unfortunate singer-songwriters who was born too late. He missed the genre's heyday of the 1970s through the 80s - that time in pop music history when albums like Lessons actually made the charts. Sometimes, they were even rewarded for their efforts with a top forty hit or two. On Luning's third long player he ponders his existence, and seems to view himself as a bit of an outlaw. The opening track, "Every Day I Am" conjures up images of The Grateful Dead's "Friend Of The Devil." Luning sings,  "I can't let them catch me, I'm a wanted man" and " if they catch me I’ll be fearing for my life . Every day I Am."   The very next track, "Down Below," is where the protagonist believes he'

Rick Murnane isn't a household name. I've just discovered him, but if you're a fan of Marshall Crenshaw - who hasn't released anything new in several years - you may discover that the Massachusetts native is a fine substitute. Murnane is a pop music veteran who makes vintage rock.  Summer Fun  is his sixth album. There is nothing progressive or alternative about this short, nine song set that clocks in at only 27:13. It's a mixture of hook filled power pop, garage rock, and British Invasion influences spiced with a little dose of country thrown in for variety. For several years Murnane released one new song online every summer that he always removed on Labor Day. Now, these cool little tunes are back and available at Bandcamp where you can name your own purchase price at the time you download it. Murnane explains where these songs came from. " While digging around in one of my external backup drives, I rediscovered