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Blues Underground Network |
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Ray Manzarek & Roy Rogers
"Translucent
Blues"
Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant, is
not the way I have ever started out a review on an Album, but then again I
haven't come across an Album as captivating as "Translucent Blues", in an
awfully long time. Surely to be hailed as one of the masterpieces of music
for 2011, "Translucent Blues" instantly caught my attention with the
opening keyboards on track 1, "Hurricane" and from there on I was
totally on board for the amazing ride provided by none other then Ray
Manzarek, "co-founder and keyboardist of The Doors, and Roy Rogers,
world renowned slide guitar master and Grammy winning
producer
."
"Translucent Blues" consists of 12
tracks, with 8 of them being co-written by Ray Manzarek or Roy
Rogers, with numerous others. Ray Manzarek is credited with the solo
writing of the last track, an instrumental called "An Organ, a Guitar and
a Chicken Wing". Roy Rogers is credited with the solo writing of 3 tracks,
"Blues in My Shoes", "Those Hits Just Keep On Comin'", and "As You Leave",
which is the second to last track and is as Manzarek's, "An Organ, a
Guitar and a Chicken Wing", also an instrumental. Ray Manzarek and
Roy Rogers only co-wrote together on one track, "Greenhouse Blues" along
with Michael C. Ford, a legend of the LA poetry scene. Ford had "done
collaborative recordings with members of The Doors drummer John Densmore
and pianist & keyboardist Ray Manzarek. His debut spoken word
record Language Commando earned a Grammy nomination in 1986." "His
first reading of his poetry occurred at a Fund Raiser for Norman Mailer's
run for Mayor of New York in 1969 with Jim Morrison lead singer The Doors
and poets Jack Hirschman, Michael McClure & several Andy Warhol
"Factory workers".
Other prominent co-writers on
"Translucent Blues", included Jim Carroll ("Hurricane", "Tension"), Warren
Zevon ("River of Madness"), Michael McClure ("Kick"), David Gionfriddo
("River of Madness", "Fives and Ones"), Stephen Gordon ("River of
Madness", "Fives and Ones"), Noah James ("Game of Skill"), and Scott
Richardson ("New Dodge City
Blues").
"James Dennis "Jim" Carroll, was an
author, poet, autobiographer, and punk musician. Carroll's extensive
musical career saw him collaborating "with Lou Reed, Blue Öyster
Cult, Boz Scaggs, Ray Manzarek of The Doors, Pearl Jam, ELO and
Rancid
."
"Warren William Zevon was an
American rock singer-songwriter and musician noted for including his
unique and sometimes sardonic opinions of life in his musical lyrics.
One of his best known compositions was "Werewolves of London". sadly
Jim Carroll passed away in 2009 and Warren Zevon passed in
2003.
"Michael McClure is an American
poet, playwright, songwriter, and novelist. After moving to San Francisco
as a young man, he found fame as one of the five poets (including Allen
Ginsberg) who read at the famous San Francisco Six Gallery reading in 1955
rendered in barely fictionalized terms in Jack Kerouac's Dharma Bums. He
soon became a key member of the Beat Generation and is immortalized as
"Pat McLear" in Kerouac's Big Sur
."
With the immense prominence of all
the writers associated with "Translucent
Blues", there should be no doubt in ones mind as to the lyrical
integrity of this Album. As for the musical integrity, that is
absolutely assured when you have a couple of heavyweights such as, Ray
Manzarek and Roy Rogers, at the helm. Also contributing to that integrity
are the rest of the musicians on "Translucent Blues", which included Steve
Evans (Bass), Kevin Hayes (Drums), George Brooks (Tenor Saxophone), and
Joel Jaffe (Harmony
Vocals/Percussion).
My journey
to absolutely loving "Translucent Blues"
started innocently enough, when at one of my Spring barbecue get
togethers, I began searching through a significant pile of CD's, I still
had to review, and the cover of "Translucent Blues" caught my
attention and shortly after putting it into the CD Player, the music quickly
caught the attention of many of my friends, with many asking what album
that was. My friends were actually so transfixed with the music that they
requested it be brought into my house at dinner time for continued
playing, as we only managed to get to track 6, before it was time
to eat. The next day when I was outside, my neighbor called me over
and told me that I was playing really good music yesterday and
enquired as to who it was. When I told her who it was she immediately said
she was going out to find that Album for herself. At a few of my gathering
I have had my friends really take notice and like what they heard,
but never to the degree that happened when I started playing "Translucent
Blues". It was shortly after that evening, that with a more attentive
listening to "Translucent Blues", that both me and the wife, also
really began to love
it.
For me
and appearantly everyone whom I know
whom has listened to "Translucent Blues", the opinion is that it is a tour
de force of great music, and as the name implies, it truly is translucent in
nature, with the music far surpassing the constraints of
just pigeonholing it into one specific genre. "Translucent Blues" is
some of the most unique music I have heard in a long time, the kind
which almost defies description, for doing so just does not truly get the
point across. It is music that just must be experienced for yourself and
the best any reviewer can really hope to do is just whole heartedly
recommend you give it a listen, like a good movie that you don't really
want spoiled by seeing to much of the
trailer.
"Translucent Blues" is the best music to cross my path, so
far for 2011, and it enthusiastically gets my highest rating of
5*****.
Review by
John Vermilyea (Blues Underground
Network)
Additional Info
Tracklist
1. Hurricane 4:27
2. River of Madness 7:09 3. Game of Skill 4:00 4. Fives and Ones 4:02 5. Kick 4:49 6. Tension 6:18 7. Blues in My Shoes 4:51 8. New Dodge City Blues 4:45 9. Greenhouse Blues 4:55 10. Those Hits Just Keep On Comin' 3:31 11. As You Leave 4:24 12. An Organ, a Guitar and a Chicken Wing 5:42
Listen To Samples Here...
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