Chrystabell This Train

The origin of Chrystabell and David Lynch’s album Cellophane Memories comes from a vision that David experienced during a nighttime walk through a forest of tall trees, over the tops of which he saw a bright light. As he recalls it, the light became the lilt of Chrystabell’s voice and revealed a secret to him. It is from these mysterious convergences of light and sound, day and night, starry sky and black forest that Chrystabell and David’s collaboration has continued to blossom.

The origin of Chrystabell and David Lynch’s album Cellophane Memories comes from a vision that David experienced during a nighttime walk through a forest of tall trees, over the tops of which he saw a bright light. As he recalls it, the light became the lilt of Chrystabell’s voice and revealed a secret to him. It is from these mysterious convergences of light and sound, day and night, starry sky and black forest that Chrystabell and David’s collaboration has continued to blossom.

A new release from Big Big Train is never just another release in the world of prog. Since 2009’s The Underfall Yard, the band has been one of the leading bands of third-wave prog, the signal marker and bellwether. Indeed, every release from Big Big Train for the past decade has manifested itself as a fundamental shift—a very rethinking of who and what we are as a community—of the genre itself. While there are innumerable great prog acts out there, none quite match Big Big Train when it comes to innovation, to creativity, and to cohesion…

One would be hard-pressed to find a band more perfectly symbolic of the good-times politics-be-damned esprit de cannabis that symbolized a good chunk of 70's rock. While the Beach Boys were busy becoming an anachronism, the Doobs effectively took their mantle, fusing an array of musical Americana - be it blues, country, folk, or gospel - into a remarkably popular string of albums and radio hits by simply asking not much more of us than to "Listen to the Music." And if they didn't get much more controversial than to declare "Jesus Is Just Alright," well, that was kind of the point. This Rhino anthology is typically exhaustive. All the familiar radio hits are here, as well as a good sampling of deep catalog from the band's various line-ups, not to mention a few standout Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons solo outings. Hardcore Doobie Bros. fans should be especially pleased by the fourth disc, which contains a wealth of outtakes and demos from the band's early '70s and '80s prime.

One would be hard-pressed to find a band more perfectly symbolic of the good-times politics-be-damned esprit de cannabis that symbolized a good chunk of 70's rock. While the Beach Boys were busy becoming an anachronism, the Doobs effectively took their mantle, fusing an array of musical Americana - be it blues, country, folk, or gospel - into a remarkably popular string of albums and radio hits by simply asking not much more of us than to "Listen to the Music." And if they didn't get much more controversial than to declare "Jesus Is Just Alright," well, that was kind of the point. This Rhino anthology is typically exhaustive. All the familiar radio hits are here, as well as a good sampling of deep catalog from the band's various line-ups, not to mention a few standout Tom Johnston and Patrick Simmons solo outings. Hardcore Doobie Bros. fans should be especially pleased by the fourth disc, which contains a wealth of outtakes and demos from the band's early '70s and '80s prime.