The short-lived Houston, Texas late-'60s psych band Moving Sidewalks are generally best known as one of the first bands of Billy Gibbons, who went on to fame in biker-blues arena rockers ZZ Top. In their day, Moving Sidewalks recorded their sole LP, Flash, as well as a few singles of psychedelic blues-rock, before evaporating into garage rock history and seeing Gibbons off to radically different prospects. The Complete Moving Sidewalks collects all known studio work by the band as well as demos and unreleased tracks from the Coachmen, the Gibbons-fronted predecessor that came just before Moving Sidewalks. As an album, Flash is very much a product of its time. Gibbons' vocals, guitar playing, and songwriting are all under a heavy Hendrix influence, borrowing the stoned blues side of Jimi's nonchalant playing and electric hippie persona.
2012 has been quite a year for Heart's Ann and Nancy Wilson. In June, the multi-disc box set retrospective Strange Euphoria was released. It was followed in September by the publication of their memoir, Kicking & Dreaming: A Story of Heart, Soul and Rock and Roll. And in October comes Fanatic, a brand new studio offering. The band re-teams with producer and multi-instrumentalist Ben Mink (who helmed the sessions for 2010's Red Velvet Car). He also co-wrote the material with the pair. Lyrically the album is almost a counterpart to their memoir; its songs detail life events, changes, and a lifetime of ups and downs.
Having achieved a loyal and growing following in Finland and throughout Europe, this Finnish group is more than capable of presenting dark and moody yet very finely tuned rock songs. Starting with "In the Shadows," lead singer Lauri Ylönen sounds a bit like Darren Hayes from Savage Garden, if moderately influenced by Nine Inch Nails. The tone of the song is lightweight and resembles an edgier or meaner Ace of Base, but thankfully The Rasmus have ample chops to make them credible…
Gabriel is back with another funky contemporary jazz album, collaboration with Jeff Lorber (keys, g, b). In addition Brian Bromberg (b), Chuck Loeb (g), Rock Hendricks (sax) and Rob Tardik (g) all make guest appearances. Hasselbach plays trumpet, flugelhorn, trombone and flute. He soars, soothes and keeps the melodies crisp. They waste no time getting down to business with the opener "King James", the first of ten cuts that sizzle. Gabriel and company are energized and when you plug this one in you too will be Kissed By The Sun!
B.B. King - The Life Of Riley is powerful, insightful and heart-warming feature documentary about legendary Blues man, B.B. King. Narrated by Morgan Freeman and featuring contributions by, amongst others, Eric Clapton, Bono, Ringo Starr, Carlos Santana, Slash, Bonnie Raitt, Buddy Guy, Ronnie Wood, Mick Jagger and Bruce Willis. The OST was developed by following the music used in the movie. The original 2CD tracklisting contains 26 career spanning songs as featured in the film, in the same order they appear in the movie.
Caro Emerald came out of nowhere in 2009 with the summertime hit "Back It Up," a catchy jazz-pop song with a dance beat. The follow-up single, "A Night Like This," was an even bigger hit, topping the Dutch charts. By the time Deleted Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor came around, Emerald was well established as one of the most exciting new artists to emerge from the Netherlands in some time, and her full-length album debut was eagerly awaited. It includes the smash hit singles "Back It Up" and "A Night Like This," both written by Vincent de Giorgio, David Schreurs, and Jan van Wieringen. The latter two Dutchmen are Emerald's producers.