Bob Lange

Flying Machines: Flying Machines

Bob Lange October 22, 2009 No Comments

They're okay as a short term fix, but, like their older peers, they won't take long to wear thin.

Blue Cheer: Blue Cheer Rocks Europe

Bob Lange October 19, 2009 No Comments

There's a handful of bands out there whose influence has been felt far and wide decades after they made their mark, yet they never enjoyed significant commercial success. The Velvet Underground comes to mind. So does Nick Drake. There are others, but in heavy rock circles, one of these bands rises above all others – Blue Cheer.

On Record With Imagine Echoes

Bob Lange October 6, 2009 No Comments

Jeff over at Imagine Echoes is a music fan with wide-ranging tastes who, until a year or so ago, had never owned a record. Now, he has over 150, and in addition to building his collection, he's also the auther of the well-respected blog, Imagine Echoes.

Ace Frehley: Anomaly

Bob Lange September 28, 2009 No Comments

Anomaly is the latest release from Ace Frehley, but it's also a good description of Space Ace himself in a sense. After all, he's the only member of KISS to make any good records on his own. So, score one for Ace. On the other hand, it's been twenty years since he's released a studio album. A long layoff from recording alone raises questions, so it's hard to predict what we'll get.

Girl in a Coma: Trio BC

Bob Lange September 24, 2009 No Comments

Coming two years after their promising debut, Trio BC shows a young band that has done some significant maturing as musicians. The album maintains their early punkish edge, but expands the sound well beyond that. Nina Diaz elevates herself to a rough-around-the-edges Patsy Cline, particularly on the yearning, tender melancholy of "El Monte."

The Slits: Trapped Animal

Bob Lange September 17, 2009 No Comments

Trapped Animal is the first studio album from the Slits since 1981 and comes 30 years after the seminal punk/reggae fusion of their debut, 1979's Cut.

Government Issue: The Punk Remains The Same

Bob Lange August 25, 2009 No Comments

This five song EP, in classic punk fashion, clocks in at just under eight minutes, but we all know it's quality, not quantity, that counts. These tracks, culled from two different shows, reflect GI's hardcore heyday in 1982-83.

Essential Jazz Classics – Re-issues from Sonny Rollins, Clifford Brown, Max Roach, Red Garland, Art Tatum and Ben Webster

Bob Lange August 13, 2009 No Comments

Essential Jazz Classics has recently released a set of CDs that collects some of that period's best albums along with some interesting bonus material.

Cheap Trick, Def Leppard, Poison: Nissan Pavilion, Bristow, VA 7/12/09

Bob Lange August 10, 2009 No Comments

Cheap Trick. Poison. Def Leppard. It's an odd billing to be sure. Poison and Def Leppard seem reasonable enough, with careers that rode the hair metal explosion of the 80s to multi-platinum success, but Cheap Trick, an 80s power ballad aside, were churning out power pop gems (that continue to influence bands today) five to ten years earlier than their tour mates. Oddly enough, the tour's oldest band chronologically is its youngest spiritually and that is part of the magic that still makes Cheap Trick matter.