Gimme Shelter

I have written about France's Alcest before. Their 2012 release Les Voyages de L'Âme made number 8 on my favorite records of 2012 list. When they started years ago they were another black metal band with growling vocals and sheets of noise. Happily, they have grown to a classic-sounding progressive band; they might be one of the best currently working.

Their new album is the lush Shelter. I had ordered it on Amazon but it was out of stock for what seemed like forever. I eventually gave up and went to my new favorite place Discogs to order through their marketplace. I think my copy came from Germany, but the price was plenty reasonable and it showed up about two weeks after ordering, which is not bad considering it had an ocean to cross.

Alcest is primarily Stéphane Paut on everything but drums and Jen Delfandre on drums. They go by Neige and Winterhalter because they are French and prog and why not, you know. I got to see them a couple months ago at Empire outside Washington DC opening for Anathema. It was a sensational show. Their brand of progressive is very anthemic, very dynamic, music that does not take long to soar. It is not everybody's cup of tea but I love it. It is emotional and powerful.

Shelter builds on that, easily their most progressive record. This one actually has vocals in english, on the album's penultimate "Away." Vocals here are done by Neil Halstead of Slowdive. That track is immediately followed by the fantastic closer "Délivrance." It is a beautiful track, typical of Alcest, starting with a lovely guitar figure before working it's way to a frenetic closing.  Some reviews of the records accuse the band of running in place, but I am all for good songs done exceptionally well. Shelter does that. There's no harm in doing what you do best.

Here is the album closer "Délivrance."

Favorite Records of 2013 - Number 5

As I have said before, Steven Wilson is the artist I admire most. He is supremely talented. He makes amazing music. He does it across a variety of projects. He has been the driving force behind Porcupine Tree, the best progressive rock band this side of Rush. He has worked with Aviv Geffen in a more pop-oriented project called Blackfield. He has also worked with more esoteric progressive projects like No Man and Bass Communion. He has done remixes for classic King Crimson and Jethro Tull albums. Sadly it looks like Porcupine Tree is finished and that Blackfield is less a priority for Mr. Wilson. But that is OK because his solo output has been amazing.

Each solo record has gotten better. The first, Insurgentes, is already great. The follow-up was Grace For Drowning and was my favorite record of 2011. I am hesitant to call his latest, The Raven That Refused To Sing, his masterpiece because his track record has shown him getting better and better and better.

This is definitely progressive rock so it is not for everyone. But the biggest knock against prog is that it's unemotional, it is detached, lacking feeling. One cannot listen to Raven and miss the feeling. It is just a gorgeous, lush album. It is not particularly guitar-driven, though Steven Wilson is one of the best guitar players around. Strings, keyboards, rhythm all work to bring the work to life. It is a beautiful listening experience. The band he has assembled is fantastic. And all the talents he has honed and skill he has is brought to bear here. His work remixing King Crimson records has rubbed off here; this is a very Crimson-sounding album.

This is the one album on my list I don't have on vinyl because I purchased the beautiful hard cover book that came with the CDs. Like any good progressive rock record there are stories at work here. Each song tells a story. The most touching of them is the final track on the record and the record's namesake. I will not spoil it for you. The video bellow is a beautiful interpretation of the song. I encourage you to watch it and enjoy it.

Ripples Never Come Back

My friend Erik commented about my picking up The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway on vinyl and how it was getting a lot of play on his iPod. That makes sense. Erik is a helluva a keyboard player and Lamb is very much a keyboard record. Sunday night I turned off the lights, put on the good headphones, lit a candle and gave it a full attention listen. It really is a spectacular record. Take "The Carpet Crawlers":

It's just a soaring song, especially when part of the story as a whole. It becomes almost holy the way the chorus soars. It's a great harmony between Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins.

Genesis is a fascinating band in terms of evolution. I can't think of band that evolved as organically as Genesis. With Gabriel at the fore they started as a very British art band, culminating in his masterpiece. He left the band because he felt the band structure couldn't offer him anything more; that he needed to go in different directions. Most of us have seen the Behind The Music and before long Genesis found their singer behind the kit. Happily, the split was amicable.

And the split changed the band, but it did so over time. The first post-Gabriel record, A Trick of The Tail is in many ways a miracle in how good it is. Songs like "Dance On A Volcano" and "Squonk" and "Entangled" and "Ripples" are fantastic. The follow-up to that Wind and Wuthering is not as good to me, at least I don't enjoy it as much. At this point guitarist Steve Hackett left for similar reasons to Gabriel, feeling confined within the band and wanting to move on to other things.

How many bands could lose their singer and guitarist and replace them not by hiring new people but by assuming the role internally? I can't think of any. And not only did they continue, then continued to make great music. And Then There Were Three was the first as a trio and is outstanding. "Burning Rope" is one of their best songs; "Snowbound" and "Undertow" and album opener "Down and Out" are all exceptional. The last song on the record hinted at where they would go: "Follow You Follow Me."

The next record, Duke, is one of my most favorite records of all time. And it's another miracle in plastic in how good it is. It's without a doubt more radio friendly than the Gabriel days, but it still retains many of the progressive bonafides. There's the hits "Misunderstanding" and "Turn It On Again." Then there's the non-hits but songs that are amazing: "Duchess" and "Man Of Our Times" and favorite of mine "Please Don't Ask" and the very proggy conclusion with "Duke's Travels" and "Duke's End."

Abacab and Genesis followed in the pop trajectory. That and Phil Collins pop solo career led to the monster that was Invisible Touch. It's very easy to forget what a great drummer Phil Collins was. A seriously fantastic drummer. The knock he gets for turning Genesis into a pop act is unfair. Listening to the post-Gabriel records the change is there but it is natural; Lamb does not give way to IT but evolves there. Some might say devolve but whatever.  I don't begrudge them moving more towards pop. It's their art and they get to choose what to do with it.

The resiliency of the band, their ability to grow and mature and evolve is fascinating. It is a testament to what exceptional musicians Phil Collins and Tony Banks and Mike Rutherford were (are).

If you've forgotten, or maybe never knew, what a great band Genesis could be, here's one of my favorites:

Living In The Limelight

I have seen Rush at least 10 times. I have a hard time keeping track of the number of times I have seen them in the last 22 years. My first show was on the Presto tour in 1990 at Reunion Arena in Dallas. The last was yesterday evening on the Clockwork Angels tour at Jiffy Lube Live outside DC. They have yet to disappoint.

This might have been the best show ever. Why? Because Jodi and I pretty much won the lottery with our seats:

Close enough for you?

Alex and funny rock-face

Last time we saw them was at the Baltimore Arena. It was a great show but we were far back on the floor. I vowed that I would never again sit that far back. So for this tour, I bit the bullet and got the VIP package. They don't tell you exactly what seats you get but we were guaranteed sitting in the first 15 rows.

We got to the show about two hours early so that we could pick up Tom (from my band and a fellow Rush freak) and get good parking. Yes, we are old. I went to the box office to pick up the tickets and once I got them I didn't open the package. I figured Jodi might bring better luck so I would let her open it. As she did I was hoping that Orchestra 2 would come up, meaning center stage. The verdict: Orchestra 2, row B. B. As in A and then B. I thought "we can't be this lucky." When we got to the seats, I was blown away. Center stage, two rows away from the greatest band on the planet.

Needless to say, the show was seriously awesome. I put the set list down below. It was heavy on mid 80s stuff. At one point I wondering whether this was the Power Windows tour. More so than other tours, they played the hell out of the new album. Nine songs from it. No complaints with that; the new record is really good. To support them for those songs they had a 8/10 piece string section. Very nice addition! Jodi was happy because they did 2112 in the encore and she got to do the "HEY!" part which she likes. She says Geddy Lee smiled at her. I am sure she did because she is a hottie at a Rush show and who wouldn't smile at that!

Geddy doing his thing

I was really excited to hear two of my most favorite Rush tunes: The Pass and The Analog Kid. The latter song is one of Alex's finest moments. He's not a shredder when it comes to guitar playing. I think he's one of the most under-rated guitarists around. But in the solo for TAK he goes nuts. After he nailed every note the crowd let out a roar. That must be a great feeling!

Two quibbles with being up close: one is I had to keep looking back and forth with a goofy grin on my face to see what Geddy was doing then what Alex was doing. Second was anything else in the future will be a let down! HA! Maybe not.

Rush put on a tremendous show. Everybody knows they are phenomenal musicians. It's great to see a band genuinely enjoying themselves, and Rush obviously do. Jodi mentioned they appear to enjoy it when the older songs get such wild reactions. I was glad to see the new songs get a supportive reaction.  It must be much more interesting to play new material than the same hits over and over. That's the cool thing about Rush: their fans actually want to hear the new stuff. The Rolling Stones, nobody gives two shits whether they make a new record and nobody wants to hear them play that instead of "Jumpin Jack Flash."

Hopefully there will be more Rush tours to see. They are getting up there in years, but they still bring it.

The Professor at work!

Here's the set list:
Subdivisions
The Big Money
Force 10
Grand Designs
Middletown Dreams
Territories
The Analog Kid
The Pass
Where's My Thing
Far Cry

Caravan
Clockwork Angels
The Anarchist
Seven Cities Of Gold
The Wreckers
Headlong Flight
Halo Effect
Wish Them Well
The Garden
Dreamline
Red Sector A
YYZ
Working Man

Tom Sawyer
2112 - Overture/Temples Of Syrinx/Grand Finale