On the turntable this Sunday...Genesis

Genesis is the 12th studio album by Genesis. It was recorded and released in 1983. Most fans, as well as the band themselves, refer to this album as the "Mama" album. In some cases, notably amongst the Genesis online community, it has been referred to as the "Shapes" or "Gold Shapes" album because of the front cover artwork.

Building on the advancements of Abacab, Genesis (so named for the fact that all three band members composed every song on it together for the first time), was a further example of Genesis' evolution in the 1980s. The album also marked the beginning of Hugh Padgham's formal production assistance after engineering Abacab.

The drum machine, used to startling effect on lead-single "Mama", was central to the song's atmosphere, and was responsible for further opening up songwriting possibilities within the band. One of their most uncommercial releases, "Mama", a song about a young boy's obsession with a prostitute, became Genesis' biggest UK hit, reaching #4 upon release, although the song did not do well in the US singles chart.

Further successes "That's All" (which became the band's first US Top 10 hit), "Illegal Alien" and "Taking It All Too Hard" ensured thatGenesis was well received, and it consequently reached #1 in the UK where it remained in the charts for 51 weeks. It also reached #9 in the US, eventually selling over four million copies there alone.

Among fans, the album has a generally favourable, yet still mixed reputation.

A SACD / DVD double disc set (including new 5.1 and Stereo mixes) was released in October 2007 in Europe and as a CD and DVD double disc set in the US and Canada a month later.

The shapes on the cover are from the Tupperware "Shape O Toy Ball." The toy consists of a blue and red hollow ball with different shaped holes cut into the surface, into which the shaped pieces can be inserted.

On the turntable this Sunday...Genesis

Genesis is the 12th studio album by Genesis. It was recorded and released in 1983. Most fans, as well as the band themselves, refer to this album as the "Mama" album. In some cases, notably amongst the Genesis online community, it has been referred to as the "Shapes" or "Gold Shapes" album because of the front cover artwork.

Building on the advancements of Abacab, Genesis (so named for the fact that all three band members composed every song on it together for the first time), was a further example of Genesis' evolution in the 1980s. The album also marked the beginning of Hugh Padgham's formal production assistance after engineering Abacab.

The drum machine, used to startling effect on lead-single "Mama", was central to the song's atmosphere, and was responsible for further opening up songwriting possibilities within the band. One of their most uncommercial releases, "Mama", a song about a young boy's obsession with a prostitute, became Genesis' biggest UK hit, reaching #4 upon release, although the song did not do well in the US singles chart.

Further successes "That's All" (which became the band's first US Top 10 hit), "Illegal Alien" and "Taking It All Too Hard" ensured thatGenesis was well received, and it consequently reached #1 in the UK where it remained in the charts for 51 weeks. It also reached #9 in the US, eventually selling over four million copies there alone.

Among fans, the album has a generally favourable, yet still mixed reputation.

A SACD / DVD double disc set (including new 5.1 and Stereo mixes) was released in October 2007 in Europe and as a CD and DVD double disc set in the US and Canada a month later.

The shapes on the cover are from the Tupperware "Shape O Toy Ball." The toy consists of a blue and red hollow ball with different shaped holes cut into the surface, into which the shaped pieces can be inserted.

Journey Perform "Don't Stop Believin'" on Today Show

Journey performed their classic hit "Don't Stop Believin'"on the outdoor stage of the Today Show in Manhattan on Friday.  Journey's lead singer, Arnel Pineda, landed the gig in 2007 after the band saw a video rendition of the Filipino rocker singing "Don't Stop Believin'" on YouTube.  He's not Steve Perry, but he's the next best thing...

Journey Perform "Don't Stop Believin'" on Today Show

Journey performed their classic hit "Don't Stop Believin'"on the outdoor stage of the Today Show in Manhattan on Friday.  Journey's lead singer, Arnel Pineda, landed the gig in 2007 after the band saw a video rendition of the Filipino rocker singing "Don't Stop Believin'" on YouTube.  He's not Steve Perry, but he's the next best thing...

The Allman Brothers Band and Friends-"Will The Circle Be Unbroken"

The Allman Brothers Band played a benefit show, "Tune In to Hep C" on Wednesday night at the Beacon Theatre in NYC with special guests that included David Crosby, Graham Nash, Billy Gibbons, Natalie Cole, Phil Lesh, Danny Louis, and Devon Allman. 

Here is the closing jam for your viewing pleasure...

The Allman Brothers Band and Friends-"Will The Circle Be Unbroken"

The Allman Brothers Band played a benefit show, "Tune In to Hep C" on Wednesday night at the Beacon Theatre in NYC with special guests that included David Crosby, Graham Nash, Billy Gibbons, Natalie Cole, Phil Lesh, Danny Louis, and Devon Allman. 

Here is the closing jam for your viewing pleasure...

Martin Scorsese Finishes George Harrison Documentary

GEORGE HARRISON: LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD, will debut in two parts on October 5 and October 6, 2011 exclusively on HBO.
New York Times-George Harrison Documentary, Directed By Martin Scorsese, to Make Its Debut on HBO

Rolling Stone: Martin Scorsese Finishes George Harrison Documentary

George has always been my favorite Beatle member and my second favorite Beatle musically.  I would stare at the back of the Rubber Soul album and daydream of being one of them.  Obviously there was no Internet in the late 70s and early 80s and they had long since broken up.  So there wasn't much of them to see in current magazines or images other than what was on their albums.  I would take what I could get and the mixture of The Monkees on TV and my imagination was a desperate substitute to the longing of this young 5th Beatle in Atlanta, Georgia. 

Mike Smith, The Showbiz Kids

Martin Scorsese Finishes George Harrison Documentary

GEORGE HARRISON: LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD, will debut in two parts on October 5 and October 6, 2011 exclusively on HBO.
New York Times-George Harrison Documentary, Directed By Martin Scorsese, to Make Its Debut on HBO

Rolling Stone: Martin Scorsese Finishes George Harrison Documentary

George has always been my favorite Beatle member and my second favorite Beatle musically.  I would stare at the back of the Rubber Soul album and daydream of being one of them.  Obviously there was no Internet in the late 70s and early 80s and they had long since broken up.  So there wasn't much of them to see in current magazines or images other than what was on their albums.  I would take what I could get and the mixture of The Monkees on TV and my imagination was a desperate substitute to the longing of this young 5th Beatle in Atlanta, Georgia. 

Mike Smith, The Showbiz Kids

Butthole Surfers

Love this song.....

10,000 hits...Thank you!

When we started our music blog back in March we just wanted a personal outlet to talk about our love of music and have some creative ways to share what we like.  We didn't really have any concept of what would come of it.  Now only five months later we already have over 10,000 hits!  We have particularly had a lot of interest from Denmark so a special thanks to all of you!  

We would have never guessed that we'd be a this point so quickly.  Thank you very much for your interest and time spent reading our blog.    We would also love to hear from you so please feel free to comment or let us know if there's something you want to hear more about.

We'll leave you now with one of our favorite songs and video.  The beauty of this website is that we know we're not the only guys that love this song "Her Town Too."  Maybe the only few within a 10 mile radius,but because this blog goes out into the nether regions of the Internet I know there's at least one other easy listening James Taylor and J.D. Souther fan out there that is happy this video will be preserved on our website.  

Take care,

The Showbiz Kids

"Her Town Too" 

10,000 hits...Thank you!

When we started our music blog back in March we just wanted a personal outlet to talk about our love of music and have some creative ways to share what we like.  We didn't really have any concept of what would come of it.  Now only five months later we already have over 10,000 hits!  We have particularly had a lot of interest from Denmark so a special thanks to all of you!  

We would have never guessed that we'd be a this point so quickly.  Thank you very much for your interest and time spent reading our blog.    We would also love to hear from you so please feel free to comment or let us know if there's something you want to hear more about.

We'll leave you now with one of our favorite songs and video.  The beauty of this website is that we know we're not the only guys that love this song "Her Town Too."  Maybe the only few within a 10 mile radius,but because this blog goes out into the nether regions of the Internet I know there's at least one other easy listening James Taylor and J.D. Souther fan out there that is happy this video will be preserved on our website.  

Take care,

The Showbiz Kids

"Her Town Too" 

New Music Tuesday: Joss Stone "LP1"

Joss Stone’s fifth album, “LP1,” is  available and in stores today.  The Brit soul singer has teamed up with the Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart, who produced “LP1” and Stone shows incredible maturity and growth on the new material, which is her first release on her own Stone’d Records label. 

Oddly enough, the release of this album comes only days after the tragic death of Amy Winehouse, who along with Joss Stone, Adele, and Duffy, represent the extremely talented and beautiful group of retro-soul and blues singers to emerge over the past few years.

Songs such as “Newborn” display Joss Stone’s stylistic growth as a singer and songwriter.   The majority of songs on “LP1” are full of the passion and high energy level that Stone can infuse in her music, effortlessly.  If songs like “Last One to Know” seem a bit scattered, smothered, and covered, Stone finds her groove on “Cry Myself to Sleep,” “Somehow,” and “Drive All Night,” which are by far the three strongest tracks on the new record.

Overall, Joss Stone sounds fantastic on this album and Dave Stewart certainly has helped steer her in a bold new direction on “LP1.”

-Will Fisher, The Showbiz Kids

The Showbiz Kids Rating: 7.5 out of possible 10

 

New Music Tuesday: Joss Stone "LP1"

Joss Stone’s fifth album, “LP1,” is  available and in stores today.  The Brit soul singer has teamed up with the Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart, who produced “LP1” and Stone shows incredible maturity and growth on the new material, which is her first release on her own Stone’d Records label. 

Oddly enough, the release of this album comes only days after the tragic death of Amy Winehouse, who along with Joss Stone, Adele, and Duffy, represent the extremely talented and beautiful group of retro-soul and blues singers to emerge over the past few years.

Songs such as “Newborn” display Joss Stone’s stylistic growth as a singer and songwriter.   The majority of songs on “LP1” are full of the passion and high energy level that Stone can infuse in her music, effortlessly.  If songs like “Last One to Know” seem a bit scattered, smothered, and covered, Stone finds her groove on “Cry Myself to Sleep,” “Somehow,” and “Drive All Night,” which are by far the three strongest tracks on the new record.

Overall, Joss Stone sounds fantastic on this album and Dave Stewart certainly has helped steer her in a bold new direction on “LP1.”

-Will Fisher, The Showbiz Kids

The Showbiz Kids Rating: 7.5 out of possible 10

 

"It was 41 years ago today Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play"

This entry is the second of hopefully more frequent posts that will highlight albums released on today's date 41 years ago. What's the significance of 41 years ago which would be 1970? Well...because it's the year I was born of course and I was among the hits released that year!

Cosmo's Factory by Creedence Clearwater Revival was released on this day July 25,1970 and it contained several hits that you can hear any day on just about any rock or soft rock station.
"Lookin Out My Back Door" and "Who'll Stop the Rain" both of which went to #2 on the billboard 100.  The album went gold in December 1970 and four times platinum by 1990.  So you could say a few people liked it and bought it.  

The unsophisticated album artwork makes 1970 seem ancient but almost magical that this is what the world looked like back then.  

The price of this album in 1970 was $4-$5.  Today this same album in very good condition is about $8 on eBay and I would expect locally you could find it for at least $4.  That's pretty good value retention over 40 years!

Original album tracks

Side One

1. Ramble Tamble
2. Before Yo Accuse Me
3. Travelin' Band
4. Ooby Dooby
5. Lookin Out My Back Door
6. Run Through the Jungle

Side Two

1. Up Around the Bend
2. My Baby Left Me
3. Who'll Stop the Rain
4. I Heard It Through the Grapevine
5. Long as I Can See the Light

A few months ago I caught this CCR song in a movie that just happens to be the last song on side two of Cosmo's Factory. The mix of a behind the scenes glimpse into a newspaper being made works very well with this song.  Vinyl records seem to be making a comeback,but the newspaper has begun its journey of fading away a bit out of everyday existence. Sort of an interesting combo of media and their life cycles in our culture.

The song "Long As I Can See the Light" plays over the ending credits of the 2009 thriller State of Play.

Mike Smith, The Showbiz Kids

"It was 41 years ago today Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play"

This entry is the second of hopefully more frequent posts that will highlight albums released on today's date 41 years ago. What's the significance of 41 years ago which would be 1970? Well...because it's the year I was born of course and I was among the hits released that year!

Cosmo's Factory by Creedence Clearwater Revival was released on this day July 25,1970 and it contained several hits that you can hear any day on just about any rock or soft rock station.
"Lookin Out My Back Door" and "Who'll Stop the Rain" both of which went to #2 on the billboard 100.  The album went gold in December 1970 and four times platinum by 1990.  So you could say a few people liked it and bought it.  

The unsophisticated album artwork makes 1970 seem ancient but almost magical that this is what the world looked like back then.  

The price of this album in 1970 was $4-$5.  Today this same album in very good condition is about $8 on eBay and I would expect locally you could find it for at least $4.  That's pretty good value retention over 40 years!

Original album tracks

Side One

1. Ramble Tamble
2. Before Yo Accuse Me
3. Travelin' Band
4. Ooby Dooby
5. Lookin Out My Back Door
6. Run Through the Jungle

Side Two

1. Up Around the Bend
2. My Baby Left Me
3. Who'll Stop the Rain
4. I Heard It Through the Grapevine
5. Long as I Can See the Light

A few months ago I caught this CCR song in a movie that just happens to be the last song on side two of Cosmo's Factory. The mix of a behind the scenes glimpse into a newspaper being made works very well with this song.  Vinyl records seem to be making a comeback,but the newspaper has begun its journey of fading away a bit out of everyday existence. Sort of an interesting combo of media and their life cycles in our culture.

The song "Long As I Can See the Light" plays over the ending credits of the 2009 thriller State of Play.

Mike Smith, The Showbiz Kids

U2 Revisit the Nineties at Epic New Jersey Show (RS)

Orginally published in Rolling Stone
By Matthew Perpetua

Bono of U2 performs at the New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Mike Coppola/Getty Images

U2 entered the home stretch of their two-year-long 360° Tour last night at the New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where the quartet delivered a generous career-spanning set with an emphasis on selections from the Nineties.

Throughout the tour, U2 have fixated on different periods in their discography – early on, they went heavy on material from The Unforgettable Fire, and in the middle of the jaunt, they would play up to five songs per night from 2000's All That You Can't Leave Behind. In recent weeks, they've leaned hard on Achtung Baby and Zooropa, inspired in part by the 20th anniversary of the sessions in Berlin that yielded both records. (It doesn't hurt that an expanded edition of the former album is due to hit shops later this year.) They kicked off the two-and-a-half hour gig with four consecutive songs from Achtung Baby, each sounding as vibrant, stylish and dynamic as they did two decades ago. "The Fly" was particularly lively, with Bono joining the Edge on guitar to add an extra layer of trebly distortion to the abrasive rocker.

Photos: Three Decades of U2

As the show carried on, the band deployed guaranteed crowd pleasers "I Will Follow," "Beautiful Day," "Pride," "Vertigo," "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Where the Streets Have No Name" evenly throughout the setlist, winning them enough goodwill from the audience to indulge in deep cuts such as "Zooropa" and "Miss Sarajevo," and tracks from 2009's No Line on the Horizon. Though the peppy "Get On Your Boots" and the messianic "Magnificent" were greeted with enthusiasm by much of the stadium crowd, the band fumbled a dance remix version of "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight," a song that appears on No Line with an arrangement roughly similar to that of "Beautiful Day." The melody simply doesn't suit the tempo, and Bono – who was otherwise in good voice through the night – struggled to stay in tune. That segment of the show was saved somewhat by a brief detour into "Discotheque," a more successful but often unfairly maligned attempt at a dance-rock hybrid from 1997's Pop.Photos: U2 360° in Italy

Despite playing one of the longest sets of the 360° Tour, Bono and the band were unwilling to part with their enthusiastic New Jersey audience. After paying tribute to the late E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons with a bit of Bruce Springsteen's "Jungleland" worked into usual show closer "Moment of Surrender," the group stuck around for one more song, an impromptu rendition of their very first single "Out of Control." As that tune surged toward its ecstatic conclusion, the only thing that seemed to keep them from going on for another encore was the venue's curfew and a steady stream of audience members hitting the exits in the hope of getting a jump on what promised to be some brutal New Jersey traffic.

Here's some footage of the band performing "With or Without You," the emotional climax of the night.

The setlist:
"Even Better Than the Real Thing"
"The Fly"
"Mysterious Ways"
"Until the End of the World"
"I Will Follow"
"Get On Your Boots"
"Magnificent"
"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"
"Stay (Faraway, So Close!)"
"Beautiful Day"
"Elevation"
"Pride (In the Name of Love)"
"Miss Sarajevo"
"Zooropa"
"City of Blinding Lights"
"Vertigo"
"I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight/Discotheque"
"Sunday Bloody Sunday"
"Scarlet"
"Walk On"
Encore 1:
"One"
"Hallelujah"
"Where the Streets Have No Name"
Encore 2:

"Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me"
"With or Without You"
"Moment of Surrender"
"Out of Control"

U2 Revisit the Nineties at Epic New Jersey Show (RS)

Orginally published in Rolling Stone
By Matthew Perpetua

Bono of U2 performs at the New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Mike Coppola/Getty Images

U2 entered the home stretch of their two-year-long 360° Tour last night at the New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where the quartet delivered a generous career-spanning set with an emphasis on selections from the Nineties.

Throughout the tour, U2 have fixated on different periods in their discography – early on, they went heavy on material from The Unforgettable Fire, and in the middle of the jaunt, they would play up to five songs per night from 2000's All That You Can't Leave Behind. In recent weeks, they've leaned hard on Achtung Baby and Zooropa, inspired in part by the 20th anniversary of the sessions in Berlin that yielded both records. (It doesn't hurt that an expanded edition of the former album is due to hit shops later this year.) They kicked off the two-and-a-half hour gig with four consecutive songs from Achtung Baby, each sounding as vibrant, stylish and dynamic as they did two decades ago. "The Fly" was particularly lively, with Bono joining the Edge on guitar to add an extra layer of trebly distortion to the abrasive rocker.

Photos: Three Decades of U2

As the show carried on, the band deployed guaranteed crowd pleasers "I Will Follow," "Beautiful Day," "Pride," "Vertigo," "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Where the Streets Have No Name" evenly throughout the setlist, winning them enough goodwill from the audience to indulge in deep cuts such as "Zooropa" and "Miss Sarajevo," and tracks from 2009's No Line on the Horizon. Though the peppy "Get On Your Boots" and the messianic "Magnificent" were greeted with enthusiasm by much of the stadium crowd, the band fumbled a dance remix version of "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight," a song that appears on No Line with an arrangement roughly similar to that of "Beautiful Day." The melody simply doesn't suit the tempo, and Bono – who was otherwise in good voice through the night – struggled to stay in tune. That segment of the show was saved somewhat by a brief detour into "Discotheque," a more successful but often unfairly maligned attempt at a dance-rock hybrid from 1997's Pop.Photos: U2 360° in Italy

Despite playing one of the longest sets of the 360° Tour, Bono and the band were unwilling to part with their enthusiastic New Jersey audience. After paying tribute to the late E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons with a bit of Bruce Springsteen's "Jungleland" worked into usual show closer "Moment of Surrender," the group stuck around for one more song, an impromptu rendition of their very first single "Out of Control." As that tune surged toward its ecstatic conclusion, the only thing that seemed to keep them from going on for another encore was the venue's curfew and a steady stream of audience members hitting the exits in the hope of getting a jump on what promised to be some brutal New Jersey traffic.

Here's some footage of the band performing "With or Without You," the emotional climax of the night.

The setlist:
"Even Better Than the Real Thing"
"The Fly"
"Mysterious Ways"
"Until the End of the World"
"I Will Follow"
"Get On Your Boots"
"Magnificent"
"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"
"Stay (Faraway, So Close!)"
"Beautiful Day"
"Elevation"
"Pride (In the Name of Love)"
"Miss Sarajevo"
"Zooropa"
"City of Blinding Lights"
"Vertigo"
"I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight/Discotheque"
"Sunday Bloody Sunday"
"Scarlet"
"Walk On"
Encore 1:
"One"
"Hallelujah"
"Where the Streets Have No Name"
Encore 2:

"Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me"
"With or Without You"
"Moment of Surrender"
"Out of Control"

RS Reader's Poll: Best Prog Band of All-Time

Rolling Stone recently conducted a reader's poll to determine the greatest progressive rock band of all-time.  What do you say?  Genesis, Rush, Pink Floyd, King Crimson, or ELP??


Follow the link for the results.

RS Reader's Poll: Best Prog Band of All-Time

Rolling Stone recently conducted a reader's poll to determine the greatest progressive rock band of all-time.  What do you say?  Genesis, Rush, Pink Floyd, King Crimson, or ELP??


Follow the link for the results.

Ed Gein's Car - Brain Dead Baby (1984)

In 1984 as hardcore was descending into metal, out of New York City came Ed Gein's Car to smash you in the face with a great slab of old style, sing-a-long punk. This was their first 7'' and was closely followed by their long player "Making Dick Dance". Both are as catchy as hell and are "must haves". They released a live album and then disappeared for years until '91 and a new 7'', Naked Man, appeared.

They still play shows to this date.
 
Mediafire

Crucified Barbara

Gotta thank John, again, for alerting me to this band.

Coming out of Stockholm, Sweden, Crucified Barbara Started as a punk band in the late 90's but morphed into a metal, and some say glam, band fairly quickly. Steer clear of this post Kenny; you'll hate them :)

They have two albums so far, both great, the first one being harder and more punky...ish. Comprising: -

Mia Coldheart (Karlsson) - Vocals, lead guitar
Klara Force (Ronnqvist Fors) - Guitar
Ida Evileye (Stenbacka) - Bass
Nicki Wicked (Jannicke Lindstrom) - Drums

I'm not a huge metal head, but I like some and these girls are right up my street, they play hard, uncheesy and catchy songs. Devil horns all round \o/

I could watch this one on repeat for days; Ida's bass playing is hypnotic, great tone.

Oh yeah, let's spend the night
We'll crucify you with no pain, yeah right
Four pieces of dirt and lust
Goddamn it, in distortion we trust

Run fast, you're going down
We are the superstars from Sheep Valley town
The noise will blow your speakers away
If you don't like the shit you don't have to stay

Wicked sounds on the gasoline drums
The Evil eye is watching you
Strings of steel Forces you down
The Crap is mad and it's shouting out loud