THE BOYS OF DUNGEON LANE Paul McCartney (Capitol Records) *****
For his 27th (I think) post-Beatles album Paul McCartney takes us all the way back to his childhood. Produced by Andrew Watt with McCartney playing most of the instruments, The Boys Of Dungeon Lane is autobiographical as he mines his old stomping grounds and family photos for inspiration. Despite rockers like Come Inside the album is on the main gently nostalgic and intimate… even at 83 Paul still has plenty to say.
The album is named after a street a few blocks down from his childhood home where he was mugged by a couple of bullies. “When I say ‘The Boys Of Dungeon Lane’ I’m thinking of those two boys” Paul told Apple Music. You’ll also find memories of George Harrison and John Lennon, who he met as a teenager, then there’s the 2nd single Home To Us, his first ever duet with Ringo. To call this record ‘nostalgic’ may be the understatement of the year but there is great comfort in that, particularly for those of us that are looking back on our own lives.
As that article in Apple Music (you can see it on I Tunes, where I bought my copy) says, “(McCartney) has written about the loves of his life and family before, but never in such intimate, autobiographical detail” and that, for me, is the main appeal of The Boys Of Dungeon Lane. The gentle melodies are something more than typical McCartney and working with Andrew Watt, who has produced spectacular late-career records with the likes of Ozzy Osbourne and The Rolling Stones, is a master stroke. Not unlike what Rick Rubin did with Johnny Cash and Neil Diamond, Watt has made McCartney a current, vital artist again.
One of the things I’ve always loved about Paul, from the earliest days of The Beatles to now is his restless creative spirit. With all of his acclaim and wealth at the age of 83 he doesn’t need to keep making music, but he wants to, he has to. Besides, after more than six decades of making music what else is he going to do? The Boys Of Dungeon Lane is quite different from peak era McCartney a la Band On The Run but no less satisfying. After 60+ years, how sad would it be if her were still making the same record? This one is a real gem.
HOT TRACKS: Come Inside, Days We Left Behind, Home To Us (with Ringo Starr)
RIDE THE RAINBOW: THE ULTIMATE TRIBUTE TO RITCHIE BLACKMORE’S RAINBOW Various Artists (Cleopatra Records) ****+
This is a star-studded tribute to one of the greatest hard rock bands ever. Ride The Rainbow holds no efforts to reinvent the wheel with musicians trying to make these great songs their own, they treat the tunes with respect, muscle and finesse.
This hard as nails tribute covers Rainbow tunes from their 1975 self-titled debut to the original band’s finale Bent Out Of Shape in 1983. It’s 13 tracks, including an acoustic version of I Surrender that caps off the disc. If you’re a Rainbow fan (and I am) you’ll be familiar with all of the songs here, but be careful when you check out the list of participating artists; your jaw may well end up on the floor as there are many former Rainbow members here along with other gifted players. As the cover says, “…featuring Graham Bonnet, Joe Lynn Turner, Ronnie Romero, Bob Daisley, Vinnie Appice, Sebastian Bach, Rick Wakeman, George Lynch, Jonathan Cain, Candice Night, and more…” The lead single is a great remake of Long Live Rock & Roll that features Bonnet, Daisley and current Deep Purple keyboardist (plus former Rainbow member) Don Airey, signaling that Cleopatra Records isn’t dicking around here; they mean business.
Of course the big question is how well do the featured guitarists replicate Blackmore’s inventive guitar parts on these classic songs? Extremely well, I’m happy to say. Here’s a quick rundown in that department for you;
Long Live Rock ‘N’ Roll- Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal
Man On The Silver Mountain- Doug Aldirch, Mick Box
Stargazer- Marty Friedman
Lady Of The Lake- Angel
Rainbow Eyes- Mike Tramp
Since You’ve Been Gone- Marty Friedman
Kill The King- Vinnie Moore
The Temple Of The King- Steve Morse (Ritchie’s replacement in Purple)
Jealous Lover- George Lynch
I Surrender- Eric Gales
Catch the Rainbow- Chris Poland
Street Of Dreams- Joel Hoekstra
Stone Cold- Vivian Campbell
I Surrender- Marcus Nand
It was a solid move to cover the most well-known songs of the Rainbow canon, giving listeners an immediate connection and source of relative comparison. I’ve been a Rainbow fan since I first heard Man On A Silver Mountain on a juke box at The Hi-Lite (a Chinese joint) in 1975 and find that the versions of these tunes on Ride The Rainbow at least stand up to and in a handful of cases surpass the originals, and that’s no small feat. It’s simple, really; the production is excellent and the musicianship is top notch, so if you like Rainbow anywhere near as much as I do, Ride The Rainbow belongs on your playlist… better set it on ‘repeat’. Release date is June 19th.
https://cleorecs.com/collections/new-releases
HOT TRACKS: Kill The King (Rick Wakeman, Bob Daisley, Vinnie Moore, Marc Lopez, Chris Adler)
Stargazer (Derek Sherinian, Marty Friedman, Vinnie Appice, Jurgen Engler, Joe Bouchard, Ronnie Romero)
Man On The Silver Mountain (Sebastian Bach, Doug Aldrich, Bob Daisley, Carmine Appice, Mick Box, Jonathan Cain)
LOVE SONGS FOR THE DAMNED Witch Of The Vale (Cleopatra Records) ****
This is the 2nd and a half album for Witch Of The Vale, following the 100 Ways To Leave Vol.1 EP and their 2021 debut Commemorate. Love Songs For The Damned feels like Enya would sound if she decided to go Goth; the songs are ethereal, haunting and they stay with you.
Witch Of The Vale, Erin and Coire, are an electronic duo that carry their aura of mystery honestly, hailing from the shores of Scotland’s Loch Lomond and the remote Outer Hebridean Isles- something the Welsh part of my heritage responds to. Love Songs For The Damned is 8 numbers including a ‘minimalist’ version of the title track, and you wouldn’t exactly call these toe-tappers or a collection of hummable songs. Love Songs hits more like an atmosphere, as if they’re painting with sound. The bio on their website describes their music as “best identified by their haunting vocal style and harmonic synths.” It also says “With Erin’s sincere, melancholic lyrics, their sound is at once ethereal and devastating.”
Love Songs opens with an alternate version of Love Of A Father, at once hard and ethereal. You’ll also find an unheard version of Porcelain & Ivory off of the 100 Ways EP as well as remixes of What’s Left Of Me and the title track, the aforementioned ‘minimalist’ version- it’s interesting to compare the two. Ultimately, Love Songs For The Damned is an album that you feel, perhaps even more so than you hear. It’s one of those suites that you really have to be in the mood for- but you might want to put the sharp objects away first. It’s dark, sometimes dreary, but also transcendent. There will be dark, lonely nights when it’s my only friend.
HOT TRACKS: Love Of A Father (alt. version), Hurt (yes, THAT song), Love Songs For The Damned (minimalist version)
BLUES FOR BREAKFAST EP Lance & Lea (independent) *****
This is seriously delicious blues. Blues For Breakfast finds Lance & Lea mining a satisfying blues groove that puts their songwriting gifts on full display. Lance is steeped in rock and Texas blues while Lea brings country and Americana to the table; the results speak for themselves.
Lea moved to Nashville in 2012, Lance in 2013, and he met Lea at a radio seminar 3 months later. “We started talking and realized we were both writing” he says, “although I still really wanted to play. About a month later we got together, and in that first session we wrote 4 songs; it was just flowing, and it’s been that way ever since.” “It’s always been collaborative for us” Lea says, “one of us will have a riff or a lyric or a nugget of a song idea, and it just grows from there. Something happens when we start writing together, it’s like magic.” I second that notion.
Blues For Breakfast is exactly what it says it is. You’ll find roots from Texas to Chicago to Memphis to Nashville, and it all fits so naturally together. Though Lance & Lea are a duo it takes a band to pull off magic like this. “As a guitar player, an electric guitar player, I always wanted a full band” Lance notes, “but it takes time to find the right people.” The band has superior groove within the blues idiom, and the combination of Lance’s rock ‘n’ blues swagger with Lea’s country and Americana leanings is a match made in blues heaven. Love the songs and the combination of their two voices, and his guitar soloing is spine-tingling.
Blues For Breakfast is a fine recording in the truest sense of the word… my only complaint is there are only 5 songs instead of 10. I am flat-out LOVING this!
HOT TRACKS: Salt & Pepper, Let It Burn
