“Easter Exclusive from Real Gone!: Free Unreleased Power Pop!”

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There’s a special giveaway at REAL GONE to celebrate this Easter weekend. To say thank you to all our regular supporters over the past year or so, we’re offering a few unreleased power pop gems.

FREE legal mps from Mark Bacino, Mick Terry and Edward O’Connell, never before available anywhere!!!

First up is a demo from Mark Bacino; a track recorded during the ‘Million Dollar Milkshake’ sessions. Mark has three superb albums out at the time of writing, but any new bits are always welcomed! Download ‘So Does Mary (demo)’ here.

Edward O’Connell has kindly offered a stripped back, alternate version of ‘I Heard It Go’, a track featured in its original form on his excellent ‘Our Little Secret’. Grab it here!

Finally, Mick Terry has given us three demos to share. Each of these tracks can be heard in their finished versions on his debut disc ‘The Grown Ups’, which is well worth checking out.
‘Hoxton Song (boggia)’ ‘The Usher’s Tale (2009 demo)’ ‘Ringing Like a Bell (demo edit)’

REAL GONE would like to say a big thank you to Mark, Edward and Mick for giving these tracks so they can be shared with you all. If you like these songs, please take the time to visit each of the musicians at their respective websites (links below) to say hello – and maybe consider buying their albums if you haven’t already.

What do you mean “but I don’t like power pop”?!

Okay then. Here’s something for the rest of you.
Here’s the legendary Tom Jones, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus through the medium of dance:

www.markbacino.com
www.edwardoconnell.com
www.mickterry.co.uk

April 2011

SHADOWMAN – Watching Over You

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shadowmanFor those unfamiliar, Shadowman presents the union of four musicians already very well known on the UK rock circuit. The band combines the talents of FM vocalist Steve Overland and Heartland guitarist Steve Morris with the Thunder rhythm section – Chris Childs and Gary ‘Harry’ James on bass and drums respectively. Their fourth album, ‘Watching Over You’ sounds exactly as you’d expect for an album featuring those musicians, though that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

The album begins with ‘Across The Universe’, which is a decent mid paced rocker. Its opening bars centre around a powerful drum arrangement from James, before settling into a punchy groove. Surprisingly, it’s not especially reliant on guitar riffs (though Morris throws in fills wherever he can); the main groove of the number is provided by a clavichord funkiness, which naturally gives things a 70s edge. An organ solo paves the way for Morris to deliver an understated guitar solo full of multi-tracked qualities. It’s a strong opening track, certainly. ‘Renegades’ swiftly follows and here Shadowman adopt a more straight ahead hard rock approach, where Morris gets to play the kind of riffs and solos he’d denied himself during the opener. Even though Overland’s vocals are strong and some other elements are enjoyable, it’s a noticeably weaker number in terms of song writing.

The first of the album’s truly standout moments is ‘Cry’, a huge bluesy power ballad. The vocals are strong, presenting Overland in good form, but it’s the other musicians whom really stand out, especially Steve Morris, whose guitar work is top-notch throughout, particularly both guitar solos which have a great tone. The second of these, coming at the close of the number is very subtle, as Morris lays down vibrato-edged notes sparingly over some excellent clean rhythms work. On the quiet moments, it’s also worth listening out for a few great bass runs from Childs – though due to the production values, he’s far too low in the mix.

With a shift away from hard rock towards the more AOR sound of the early FM albums, the semi-acoustic ‘Whatever It Takes’ has all the hallmarks of radio-friendly rock. The chorus is one of the album’s strongest despite having a very much by numbers quality and the use of backing vocals is effective. For the last chorus, Overland’s voice sings a lead over his own harmony vocals to predictable – yet still pleasing effect. ‘Whatever It Takes’ follows suit and even though it doesn’t offer any great musical difference, it’s a great example of melodic rock being played well with all of the necessary ingredients firmly in place. The pairing of FM’s Steve Overland and Heartland’s Steve Morris rarely sounds stronger than it does on these numbers. More semi-acoustic vibes provide the heart of ‘Heaven Waits’, but this time there’s a slightly darker tone which occasionally leans towards an eastern musical motif without embracing it fully. By the time Morris breaks into an almost Brian May inspired solo that’s full of chorus pedals, it’s obvious this number is a winner.

‘Are You Ready’ is a great mid-paced rocker, full of harmonies on its chorus. While the band sound great on this style of Bad Company inspired hard rock, there’s a gut feeling that says no matter how good Steve Overland’s delivery is here, Thunder’s Danny Bowes would absolutely wipe the floor with him vocally. A Thunder-esque vibe also runs through the swaggering rocker ‘Waiting For a Miracle’, a number which features a solid performance from Overland, a strong chorus and an another old fashioned organ solo.

While most of ‘Watching Over You’s twelve melodic rock songs are of a good quality – and certainly feature the musicians playing to their strengths – the album is let down somewhat by a thin, extremely trebly production sound. Throughout most of the disc, especially on the rockier numbers, most of Chris Childs’s bass playing barely registers, being drowned out by loud rhythm guitars and Overland’s equally loud vocal. However, if you’ve picked up the previous Shadowman albums prior to this one, you’ll certainly want this one too, although first time listeners may be wise to check out 2008’s slightly fuller sounding ‘Ghost in the Mirror’ first.

[You can catch Gary and Chris performing with Thunder at their one-off reunion at the High Voltage festival, Victoria Park, London – July 24th 2011]

April 2011

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KING KOBRA – King Kobra

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KK2011For some people, Carmine Appice will be most famous through his work with Vanilla Fudge, followed by a shortlived Blind Faith-eque collaboration with Jeff Beck (a collaboration which, aside from not being especially good, also featured Vanilla Fudge’s bassist Tim Bogert). For others – and mostly those whose musical tastes favour a more metallic approach – Carmine will be known as the older brother of Dio/Black Sabbath drummer Vinny Appice and founder of the cult melodic metal outfit King Kobra.

King Kobra’s first two albums -‘Ready to Strike’ and ‘Thrill of a Lifetime’- are cult classics. Granted, they’re a little hit and miss, but the great moments on both albums are among the best that 80s melodic metal has to offer. This is, in no small part, due to the then unknown Mark Free being the featured vocalist on both albums; a performer whom would go on to become one of the melodic rock scene’s best-loved voices, achieving greater accolades with cult AOR bands Signal and Unruly Child. Sadly, by the time King Kobra issued their third album a couple of years later – the appropriately titled ‘III’ – bassist Johnny Rod had joined W.A.S.P., Mark Free had moved on, King Kobra’s sound had toughened up…and new vocalist Johnny Edwards just wasn’t up to the job. [Edwards would face a similarly hard task replacing Lou Gramm in Foreigner a couple of years later]. King Kobra threw in the towel after that third album, with Appice joining ex-Thin Lizzy guitarist John Sykes to form Blue Murder. Appice left Blue Murder in 1992 to move on to other projects.

Thirteen years after King Kobra’s third album, Appice resurrected the band name and released ‘Hollywood Trash’ – a King Kobra album in name only, with Appice being the sole original member. For this third incarnation of King Kobra, Kelly Keeling was enlisted on vocals (a man, whom coincidentally, had also been Blue Murder’s frontman sometime after Appice’s departure). While ‘Hollywood Trash’s material was patchy and had the audio quality of something recorded in a shed, Keeling did his best to deliver decent vocal performances. The end result, unsurprisingly, wasn’t really any better than ‘King Kobra III’; it seemed that no matter how hard they tried, this band were never going to match their early days with Mark Free.

A decade later, King Kobra announced they were to make a comeback. With Appice gathering together most of the original line-up (excluding Mark Free, now Marcie), it would certainly be seen as a step in the right direction. The resulting self-titled album – their first to be released on Frontiers Records – is marginally better than the worst bits of ‘King Kobra III’ and better sounding than ‘Hollywood Trash’, but in reality, that’s not difficult.

The riffs are chunky and the choruses are suitably big and the energy on show could possibly equal parts of ‘Ready To Strike’, but the album lets itself down with average song writing, full of absolutely brazen clichés. Their attempt at making a deliberately feel-good record is hampered throughout by an average vocal performance, courtesy of ex-Rough Cutt/Quiet Riot man Paul Shortino. A quick look at the track-listing ought to give you some indication of where the disc is headed: ‘Tear Down The Walls’, ‘Turn Up The Good Times’, ‘Screamin’ For More’, ‘This Is How We Roll’ – and even worse – ‘Rock This House’.

On the plus side, the band turns in some solid, if predictable, musical performances. A few of David Michael-Philips’s guitar solos really hit the spot and, naturally, Appice’s hard rock drum style is great throughout. It seems a shame that the decent moments are often let down by Shortino’s slightly rough delivery and even rougher lyrical content. ‘Top of the World’ is helped by some solid harmony vocals and a cracking guitar solo, only then to be let down by a lazy one-line hook, but even so, it at least hints at the better material from King Kobra’s early albums, while the Whitesnake-with-an-average vocalist approach of ‘You Make It Easy’ surprises with the inclusion of a nifty acoustic guitar solo.

The best track on offer is certainly ‘We Got a Fever’, where King Kobra attempt to put away their “rock clichés 101” bible and mix their brand of hard rock with a gentle bluesy tone. The slower, slightly more brooding feel allows David Michael-Phillips and Mick Sweda an opportunity for their playing to stretch slightly beyond King Kobra’s usual melodic metal confines, and the end result is far more sympathetic to Paul Shortino’s vocal style. Even though the big ballad ‘Tears Turn To Rain’ is an improvement over most of the material here, any passion it could have had gets flattened by Shortino’s approach – his husky tones are really at odds with the kind of huge, effortless delivery it really needed.

While some will praise this return of King Kobra after a decade away, this release is little more than okay at best, while at worst, it could possibly rival Paul Sabu’s 1995 outing ‘In Dreams’ as one of the most embarrassing, clichéd offerings imaginable. If you’re an undemanding rock fan who’s never really let go of the past, you may still be happy to “tear down the walls” or “turn up the good times”, but for everyone else, this album is about as fresh as Carmine Appice’s leather trousers from 1989.

April 2011

THE PAINS OF BEING PURE AT HEART – Belong

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POBThe Pains of Being Pure at Heart’s self-titled debut was an album that got better over time; one of those discs that really takes hold unexpectedly.  A nostalgic affair, its core influences recalled the greatness of the mid 90s. It’s understandable, therefore that it could be suspected  their sophomore album would be a weaker effort having been put together in a fraction of the time.

The opening bars of the title track sweep away any misgivings, as Flood’s lavish production brings out the absolute best in the New York quintet’s sound. The drums have great presence, even once they find a space behind Kip Berman’s guitars (which appear in both crisp and fuzzy forms) and the bass sound that tips the hat to Simon Gallup of The Cure with its rattling nature. Berman’s voice is surprisingly wistful considering the full sound the band has adopted, but it’s the music which does all the talking here. With the opening number combining most of PoBPaH’s strongest features, it’s surprising the album doesn’t fall at the next hurdle. ‘Heaven’s Gonna Happen Now’ has moments which lean farther towards 90s jangle; its lead guitar riffs are simple and yet so effective. While Berman sticks to his usual aloof vocal approach, the music has a toughness which, in places, wouldn’t have sounded too out of place on either Buffalo Tom’s 1992 breakthrough album ‘Let Me Come Over’ or Teenage Fanclub’s ‘Bandwagonesque’.

The mechanical bass at the heart of ‘Heart In Your Heartbreak’ recalls the best sounds from the band’s debut. With the hushed vocals of Kip Berman and Peggy Wang melding together on its chorus, the feeling is one of familiarity. It feels a little throwaway after the weightiness of the opening pair of tracks, but clearly highlights how, for all of their multi-layered tendencies elsewhere, this is a band that possesses a knack for a good pop hook. For fans of the spikier elements of the debut, ‘The Girl of 1,000 Dreams’ should appeal, driven by Kurt Feldman’s hard drumming, overlaid by a wall of fuzzy guitars; as with a couple of their debut’s tracks, this has a musical edge which hints at the softer end of the 90s shoegaze movement.

‘The Body’ sounds rather like a New Order cast off from the mid 90s. While Berman doesn’t sound especially like Bernard Sumner, there’s a definite influence in the way the track has been constructed around a layer of keys, upfront bass and quirky drumming. The chorus here isn’t as strong as perhaps it could have been, but the other elements are top notch – and with the band’s delivery sounding so easy, it still ranks as one of the best numbers. The band aren’t above borrowing from other 80s alternative stuff either, as the upbeat approach of ‘My Terrible Friend’, recalls The Cure circa 1985-87 with its cheeky keyboard riff combined with jangly guitars (backed by a busy acoustic line). That’s as far as any similarities go, mind, since Berman’s breathy vocal keeps things really light and chipper. While it’s Wang’s keyboard line which lodges inside your head, Alex Nadius’s busy but uncomplicated bass work isn’t without merit here.

While its rhythm maintains a steady pace, with an almost unflinching mechanical vibe, ‘Strange’ closes the disc with something oddly beautiful. A track which recalls lots of alternative music from the early 90s, the way Wang’s keyboard layers shine through the multi-tracked guitars is just superb. Berman’s vocal is almost redundant; the multilayered sounds work in such an effective way they almost completely absorb the listener.

With ‘Belong’, Berman and co have delivered a release which is stronger than their debut and one which makes the art of the “difficult second album” seem so easy. The band sound confident throughout, and while their song writing hasn’t moved on a great deal, their arrangements have a smoothness which wasn’t always consistent before. Sounding stronger with every play, this is an album for iPods on long journeys – an album to take with you to bring a spark to crowded places. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart have matured as a band – and it shows.

March 2011

FOE – Hot New Trash EP

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FOEtrashWhy is it that every time a female artist with alternative leanings begins a career, they’re never accepted as just being themselves? It seems the knee-jerk reaction is to liken the artist in question to either PJ Harvey or Kate Bush. Foe (aka Hannah Clark) has been likened to both – but in reality, has little to nothing in common with either. It’s hugely unlikely you’d find Harvey or Bush delivering anything quite as rocky as the music offered by Foe, and you certainly wouldn’t find either of them donning a luridly coloured wig willy-nilly.

It would be so easy to dismiss Foe as a novelty, but once you get past her penchant for wearing day-glo headgear and oh-so-deliberate kookiness, her debut EP ‘Hot New Trash’ has a definite charm. If you’ve not given up after the first track, chances are you’ll enjoy Foe’s trash-filled musical aesthetic.

That opening number, the rather short ‘Ape Song’, is based around a waltz time signature played on a harmonium, creating the kind of carnival atmosphere which might please Kurt Weill and Tom Waits. Foe’s vocals are strong, but not especially user-friendly with their slightly sneering nature. The track falls apart fairly quickly, descending into ugly electronic drones and backward loops. ‘Tyrant Song’ combines a hard edged electronic punch with a fuzzy guitar riff, over which Foe’s slightly distorted voice works excellently. Where there should be a chorus, she spits “are you ready for the next big thing / are you ready for a clown in a g-string”. It just about passes as a hook; but the mood of the track seems more important than its sing-along qualities. If you like chunky riffs overlaid by electronica, this is a number should hit the mark. Even the jarring keyboard lines don’t interfere with the solid grooves.

‘Genie In a Coke Can’ is much slower and a fair bit darker, with its brooding riff clashing with electronica in a way which recalls the best work by cult 90s artists Snake River Conspiracy and Jane Jensen. The lyrics are full of anti-media messages and spite directed at record companies who spend “millions in marketing for pop star trash”. Once again, the ugly keyboards play against the mid-paced rock elements in a way that sets out to unnerve, but there’s enough bottom end and fuzz here give the track a proper edge. ‘Merry Go Down’ features a heavy use of keyboards, overlaid with upfront bass. Foe’s vocals avoid being twee by being slightly distorted via some studio trickery, but while her voice is loud in the end mix, it’s the instrumental arrangement which provides the greatest strength. The harmonium, combined with very measured drumming and retro guitar twang lends a slightly unsettling atmosphere; the kind of twisted spookiness you should expect from someone who claims that Oompa Loompas often invaded her bedroom at night via hallucinations.

‘Hot New Trash’ presents the sound of a raw talent refusing to be moulded and pigeon-holed by her record company. While it starts out on shaky ground by trying slightly too hard, by the mid-point, Foe’s mix of alternative pop, ugly electronica and chunky rock becomes more than endearing. Forget what you may have been told: she isn’t PJ Harvey, Kate Bush or any other female singer-songwriter you care to lazily pin on her; she’s just Foe – making her own music, and even better, she’s doing it on her own terms.

April 2011