<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Like many other publications, <\/span>Classic Rock Magazine<\/span><\/i> ends each year with an issue compiling the best and worst of the past year. \u00a0In years past, I purchased my monthly copy of <\/span>CRM<\/span><\/i> from a bookstore and avoided this issue assuming it would be a rehash of articles from previous issues. \u00a0With the closing of my usual bookstore outlets in both Houghton and Marquette, getting my monthly dose of music news meant finally breaking down and getting a subscription. \u00a0If you are thinking ahead of me here, then you know what comes next: \u00a0the first issue received was, of course, the 2017 summation issue that would not have been purchased had it been encountered in a bookstore. \u00a0Undaunted, the cover was cracked and I poured over the issue while \u00a0harboring no illusions about what would be found inside.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0If one remembers the old adage about those who \u2018assume\u2019 (\u201cNever assume because you make an <\/span>ass<\/span> out of <\/span>u<\/span> and <\/span>me<\/span>\u201d (author\u2019s note: \u00a0I am not sure who said this first, but I first heard it on TV on an episode of <\/span>The Odd Couple<\/span><\/i> when Felix used it to win over the jury in his attempt to get out of a traffic ticket)), it must now be admitted that my assumption was wrong! \u00a0While most issues of <\/span>CRM<\/span><\/i> can be read in a matter of days, this one is stilling hanging in my reading pile a month after it arrived. \u00a0Thanks to this issue, there are now a number of bands and albums that have joined the \u201cneed to check them out\u201d list (and a few that were shuffled off to the \u201cnot my cup of tea\u201d list).<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Two of the bands that hadn\u2019t registered on my radar until this issue were Little Steven\u2019s Disciples of Soul and a new band called the Milligan Vaughn Project or MVP for short. \u00a0The Disciples new album (<\/span>Soulfire<\/span><\/i>) was eighteen years in the making and I hadn\u2019t heard word one about them previously. \u00a0Being a sucker for horn rock bands, the album was on order before the entire article had been read through. \u00a0If Little Steven\u2019s work with Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes is any indication, the Disciples of Soul will carry the New Jersey Sound well into the future. \u00a0\u201cMilligan\u201d hit me right away because singer Malford Milligan has been a favorite singer of mine since I first heard him performing with Storyville, a band that included the late Stevie Ray Vaughn\u2019s Double Trouble band augmented with two new guitar players. \u00a0Milligan has now teamed up with Tyrone Vaughn, son of Stevie Ray\u2019s older brother Jimmy. \u00a0\u00a0Given the Vaughn pedigree and Milligan\u2019s excellent voice, this album was also ordered toot sweet. \u00a0Others must also be interested as it is \u2018out of stock\u2019 but will ship as soon as it is available. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The name Cats in Space has appeared here and there in the trade magazines, but this is the first time information about the band itself has been given in any detail. \u00a0Ten years ago, guitarist Greg Hart left a Thin Lizzy tribute band called Limehouse to form a band whose sound he described as, \u00a0\u201cclassic seventies-style rock band in the Lizzy\/UFO mould embellished with AOR (album oriented rock) harmonies. \u00a0It was okay, but it remained nailed firmly to shop shelves. \u00a0The plan needed rethinking.\u201d \u00a0He restructured the band to include original drummer Steevi Bacon (ex- Robin Trower and also a current member of the Marc Bolan tribute band TooRex) and vocalist Paul Manzi (whose CV includes some time spent with The Sweet and appearances on the soundtracks of the rock musicals <\/span>Phantasmagoria<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>Space Family Reunion<\/span><\/i>). \u00a0Keyboard player Andy Stewart is a veteran musical director for a slew of rock musicals (<\/span>Hair, Miss Saigon, Phantom of the Opera<\/span><\/i>) and bass player Jeff Brown came from the NWOBHM (new world order of British heavy metal) bands Wildfire and Statetrooper. \u00a0Guitarists Dean Howard (T\u2019Pau, Ian Gillian Band, Bad Company) and Hart (Asia and his own band Hartless) round out the line up. \u00a0Their 2017 release <\/span>Scarecrow<\/span><\/i> is only their second release but Cats in Space have clearly moved beyond Hart\u2019s original Thin Lizzy\/UFO concept.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Hart says, \u201cI think rock became frightened to smile\u2019 and he owned up to being inspired by the \u2018nudge and wink\u2019 style of Justin Hawkins\u2019 band, The Darkness. \u00a0Hart\u2019s current plan is to have Cats in Space bring back a certain amount of humor and pomp to rock music, perhaps even bordering on Spinal Tap\u2019s territory. \u00a0\u201cIf less is more, how much will more be, if more is more?\u201d is how Hart describes where he sees the band headed. \u00a0Even the name is designed to make one pause: \u00a0\u201cLove it or hate it, at least people will talk about it.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0We haven\u2019t laid hands on <\/span>Scarecrow<\/span><\/i> yet, but it will show up in the WOAS schedule sooner than later.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Marilyn Manson has a new album out (<\/span>Heaven Upside Down<\/span><\/i>) but we will have to pass on that one for the WOAS playlist. \u00a0\u00a0While the former Brian Warner can be a thought provoking interview subject, there are only so many F-bombs one can drop in one interview (or in the lyrics on one album) that give us pause to even take a listen. \u00a0Marillion also has a new album out (F.E.A.R.) and that is another one that won\u2019t be playing anytime soon. \u00a0The \u2018F\u2019 in the album title doesn\u2019t get them airtime (see Marilyn Manson above), but mostly they are just one of those bands that never clicked with me. \u00a0They do passable anthem type rock, but try as I might, it just doesn\u2019t make me anxiously await their next album. \u00a0Same can be said of Josh Homme and his work with Queens of the Stone Age (whose album <\/span>Villains<\/span><\/i> was named the <\/span>CRM<\/span><\/i> Critics\u2019 Choice #1 Album of the Year), Them Crooked Vultures, Screaming Trees and Kyuss. \u00a0All are bands with a good following, but with so many musical choices to make in any given year, I tend to not spend a lot of time bands that don\u2019t make me sit up and say, \u201cOh, yeah!\u201d \u00a0That is okay, because when I used to confess to being a big fan of The Moody Blues, some people would act like I had just declared I had leprosy. \u00a0How about Steel Panther (whose single <\/span>She\u2019s Tight <\/span><\/i>with Robin Zander of Cheap Trick is found on CRM\u2019s Ultimate 2017 playlist)? \u00a0While the musicianship on most of their albums is great, they tend to wear thin pretty quickly because a) the one note \u2018We are the only Hair Metal band left\u2019 schtick gets old and b) they also like to pepper their lyrics with less than radio friendly chatter. \u00a0The English language contains millions of word combinations that can be used, but too often bands retreat to George Carlin\u2019s <\/span>Seven Words You Can\u2019t Say on Television <\/span><\/i>or worse. \u00a0These are not the types of albums that get airtime on WOAS-FM.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Enough about what we won\u2019t be programming. \u00a0Let us wrap up this discussion with some albums that we will give a share of our airtime and let you decide how you feel about them. \u00a0Charting at #50 on <\/span>CRM\u2019s<\/span><\/i> top Albums of the Year is <\/span>The Mission <\/span><\/i>by another of my perennially favorite bands, Styx. \u00a0The band\u2019s press release pumped this new record as a throwback to their glory years by comparing <\/span>The Mission<\/span><\/i> with both <\/span>The Grand Illusion<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>Paradise Theater<\/span><\/i>. \u00a0The music is solid but the storyline is built around a future space mission to Mars and if one doesn\u2019t listen while reading along with the liner notes at least once, it will be a little hard to decipher. \u00a0Nevertheless, we will give it some spins and see if it grows on us. \u00a0Cheap Trick is a band that rarely disappoints me but <\/span>CMR\u2019s<\/span><\/i> #17 album (<\/span>We\u2019re All Alright<\/span><\/i>) came off a little one dimensional. \u00a0Oh, a Cheap Trick head like me will still play it, but in this case, the writing and production have kind of a phoned in quality. \u00a0The same can be said of the #2 album, Black Country Communion\u2019s \u00a0long anticipated <\/span>BCCIV. \u00a0<\/span><\/i>I was happy with their previous work together before Joe Bonamassa and Glenn Hughes had a parting of the ways. \u00a0It would be hard for me to not like a band with Jason Bonham holding down the drums and Derek Sherinian\u2019s keys flavouring the music created by these two gifted song writers. \u00a0There are some stellar tracks, but alas, they have seemingly mined the depths of their collaboration and found the gold bearing veins petering out. \u00a0I like the album, but not as much as their debut CD.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Deep Purple has hinted that <\/span>Infinite<\/span><\/i> might be their album together (<\/span>CRM # 12<\/span><\/i>). \u00a0Okay, I will grant that it isn\u2019t exactly <\/span>Machine Head<\/span><\/i> but it isn\u2019t a bad album by any means. \u00a0Ian Gillan\u2019s vocal range has diminished some, but with keys player Don Ayrie and guitar player Steve Morse filling the critical holes left by the departure of the late Jon Lord and the mercurial Ritchie Blackmore, they can still craft a fine album. \u00a0Spot #11 on the <\/span>CMR<\/span><\/i> list goes to Thunder. \u00a0I knew nothing of Thunder until they showed up on a special insert CD in a volume of <\/span>CRM<\/span><\/i> two years ago. \u00a0Based on what little I have heard of this veteran British band, we will no doubt pick up <\/span>Rip it Up<\/span><\/i> and see what they are up to these days. \u00a0We have already spun Ray Davies\u2019 <\/span>Americana<\/span><\/i> (<\/span>CMR #33<\/span><\/i>) and find it to be one of his stronger solo albums from the past decade. \u00a0Other notable entries that we haven\u2019t previewed yet but hope to include #49 Eric Gales (<\/span>Middle of the Road<\/span><\/i>). #44 Walter Trout (<\/span>We\u2019re All in this Together<\/span><\/i>), #38 Alice Cooper (<\/span>Paranormal<\/span><\/i>) and #8 Black Star Riders (<\/span>Heavy Fire).<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Let me wrap up this 2017-2018 transitional musical tour with the Robinson Brothers. \u00a0Black Crowes fans are still lamenting the acrimonious split the band experienced and the hopeful are still relying on the power of \u2018never say never\u2019 that they will all come to their senses and work it out. \u00a0I don\u2019t see it happening because the brothers Robinson seem to be going in different directions musically. \u00a0Lead singer Chris and his Chris Robinson Brotherhood (#37 <\/span>Barefoot in the Head<\/span><\/i>) are making music that it is hard to categorize and in come cases, recognize. \u00a0The album leans heavily toward the jam band\/psychedelia side of the record rack. \u00a0The band is good and the songs are okay, but rather pale when compared to Robinson\u2019s back catalog with the Black Crowes. \u00a0Call it back sliding if you will. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Younger brother Rich Robinson has gone the other direction. \u00a0With his new band, Magpie Salute, he has assembled a great band. \u00a0Their first release is a collection of covers and one original (<\/span>Omission<\/span><\/i>), but it hints at how great this band will be by the time they put out an album of all original material. \u00a0In the Crowes, Rich was always overshadowed by the more flamboyant Chris. \u00a0Rich\u2019s solo catalog has been solid, but his maturation as a songwriter, musician and band leader are clearly evident with Magpie Salute. \u00a0Every six months or so, I get a CD lodged in my car player and it gets played until I get a little tired of it. \u00a0Last spring, this resident CD was Joe Bonamassa\u2019s <\/span>Blues of Desperation.<\/span><\/i> \u00a0You won\u2019t be surprised to learn that it got bumped by Magpie Salute and I haven\u2019t found anything to warrant a change as 2018 rolled into sight.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Naturally, this is the highly condensed version of the \u2018good and the not so good\u2019 albums that will carry us into the new year. \u00a0We didn\u2019t even get to the new stuff coming out from Bob Seger (<\/span>I Knew You When)<\/span><\/i>, Iron Maiden (<\/span>The Book of Souls: \u00a0Live Chapter<\/span><\/i>) or Def Leppard\u2019s Joe Elliott and his side project Down \u2018N\u2019 Outz. \u00a0Tune in to WOAS-FM 88.5 and we promise you will hear as much of this music as we can play. \u00a0Perhaps we can revisit the topic again next January, right after next year\u2019s (now eagerly anticipated) year end summary of <\/span>Classic Rock Magazine <\/span><\/i>arrives<\/span>.<\/span><\/i> \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Top Piece Video:\u00a0 Magpie Salute’s\u00a0Omission<\/em>