Missionaria Protectiva

  ROBBIE ROBERTSON  Storyville  (Geffen,1991) - Rock       The 10 tracks traverse several states and decades in describing an on-again, off-again love affair, along with the protagonist’s search for spiritual fulfillment, climaxing far from Louisiana on the Hopi Indian reservation.       This narrative seems to have stayed mostly in the artist’s head (and in the detailed press kit synopsis). “Storyville” is better appreciated as a strong but uneven collection of tunes than as the dramatic whole he envisioned.       Some cuts get surprisingly pedestrian in waxing romantic and wonderstruck, Robertson’s populist sense besting his poetic instincts. (Lines like “We’re all living in a street opera” veer mighty close to Bon Jovi territory.)       Other vignettes, though, are standouts--like “Soapbox Preacher” (in which Robertson’s husky whisper mixes prettily with a Neil Young harmony), “Resurrection” (where gospel’s Zi...

  DAVE EDMUNDS  Get It  (Swan Song,1977) - Rock       Edmunds was making enough musical noise that he could count Robert Plant as a fan, which led to him being offered a deal on Led Zeppelin’s Swan Song label that gave him full artist control. The tracks that made up his first Swan Song release, 1977’s  “Get It”,  had already largely been recorded by Edmunds at Rockfield Studios before he got the deal, and they include several Nick Lowe tunes, including the first recording of his classic  ‘I Knew The B ride ’ . Dave Edmunds was never a prolific songwriter, and he was impressed with Lowe’s ability to write songs quickly. The album included former Man drummer Terry Williams, who had also played with Love Sculpture at the end of their career, Lowe on bass for some tracks with fellow Brinsleys’ drummer Billy Rankin and Bob Andrews on piano, and Chilli Willi’s Paul Riley on bass. The songs were more contemporary than on Edmunds’ earlier releases, ...

        Francis Alan Fitzgerald  is an American musician (both a bassist and a keyboardist), was a member of several U.S. bands. He played as a bassist in the bands Montrose and Gamma, both of which also featured guitarist Ronnie Montrose. He played keyboards for Sammy Hagar as a solo artist. In the 1980s, he was the keyboardist for Night Ranger. He also played keyboards offstage for Van Halen in the early 1990s and the 2004, 2007, and 2012 tours as well as offstage keyboard for Bruce Springsteen at the Devils and Dust Tour in 2005. NIGHT RANGER Dawn Patrol Boardwalk, 1982 https://www.sendspace.com/file/tcckmx

  YELLOWJACKETS   Mirage A Trois  (WB,1983) - Jazz       This album seemed to combine the two: instrumental jazz with the synth as the main melodic instrument. Keyboardist Russell Ferrante played a lot of different instruments that were cutting edge at the time (Yamaha GS-1 and CE-20, OBX, and Prophet) which date the sound but in a good way, if that makes any sense. At this time, the group was basically a synth-bass-drums trio with lots of guest artists (Richard Elliot, Robben Ford, Randy Crawford, Bruce Hornsby, Brenda Russell, etc.) appearing on certain tracks, but in later releases, the group would add a permanent sax player. To me, they never sounded this good again. TRACKLIST : Claire's Song                        Top Secret                        I Got Rhythm                     ...

  MORGAN & TANDY  Earthrise  (FM/Revolver,1985/2011) - Rock       Dave Scott Morgan is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and a stalwart of the sixties Birmingham music scene. He was later to tour for several years as a member of The Electric Light Orchestra with his friend Richard Tandy, with whom he had collaborated in the years before. They reached a particularly creative peak with their album Earthrise. TRACKLIST : Spaceship Earth                           Earth Rise                           Under The Blue / Asteroid                           Starclipse / Purpose                           Escape From The Citadel                       ...

  BRAND X  Is There Anything About?  (CBS,1982) - Jazz fusion       While far from an essential Brand X release, there is still some strong material contained here. "Ipanaemia" is a bouncy jazz-fusion track littered with tasty guitar licks from Goodsall and Collins deft touch on the drums. "A Longer April" is a nice showcase for the emotional sax work of Ravenscroft and Giblin's elastic bass lines, while "Modern, Noisy and Effective" features some soul searching synth melodies courtesy of Lumley...anything but noisy actually. The band gets into a deep funk groove on the upbeat "Swan Song", a nice vehicle for Giblin's muscular bass and Goodsall's guitar licks. The legendary Jones makes his first appearance on this CD with the excellent title track, as he and Collins plow through some intricate rhythms before Lumley and Goodsall join in on the fun on this funky fusion burner. "Tmiu-Atga", short for 'their making it up as t...