<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Late in May, I got a sonic treat of epic proportions when Gary Tanin, our friend at Daystorm Music in Milwaukee, sent us an early copy of Peggy James\u2019 new album.\u00a0 First the disclaimer – I have had the opportunity to preview several of Peggy\u2019s albums.\u00a0 With each and every one of them, I have told Gary, \u201cWow – this is Peggy\u2019s best record yet.\u201d\u00a0 I was only halfway through the opening track when I grabbed my phone and engaged in a bit of deja vu.\u00a0 If the first track pulls me into an album, I am rarely disappointed with the whole package and <\/span>Till I Turn Blue<\/span><\/i> is no exception.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Peggy James is a Milwaukee singer\/songwriter with so many gifts, it is hard to describe her albums without repeating myself.\u00a0 She is an artful storyteller.\u00a0 Her melodies are hard to forget.\u00a0 The arrangements always make you feel something.\u00a0 Every time a new layer is introduced in a song\u2019s arrangement, it gets better.\u00a0 There are only so many superlatives one can use to describe the guitar work I hear on this album because it is all good.\u00a0 No, not good, it is all great and we will come back to that thought in a bit.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Listening to a Peggy James song is like watching Bob Ross paint.\u00a0 Ross would start with a blank canvas and as you watch him add layer upon layer, a picture emerges.\u00a0 Just when you think it couldn\u2019t get any better, he adds another dab here or there and suddenly, it pops to life.<\/span><\/p>\n I can\u2019t think of another artist since Joni Mitchell arrived on the scene who can make the combination of stories, voice, and musical ingredients come alive like Peggy James.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The opening track <\/span>(Compensation<\/span><\/i>) is typical of how Peggy tells stories.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t matter if they are based on the real world or come from her imagination because they connect with the listener on many levels.\u00a0 The bouncy beat coupled with layers of guitar and backing vocals are the perfect vehicles to carry the \u2018lead instrument\u2019 – namely Peggy\u2019s vocals.\u00a0 <\/span>There Must Be Gold<\/span><\/i> features more of the same and the \u2018ya done me wrong\u2019 Texas swing of <\/span>So Over You <\/span><\/i>puts you smack in the middle of a roadhouse honky tonk.\u00a0 The \u2018pop\u2019 in the accents add a nice touch to <\/span>First Kiss <\/span><\/i>followed by another chapter in the James book of stories, the rags to riches theme of <\/span>Eyes on the Horizon. <\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span>Eyes <\/span><\/i>starts with a simple strum and<\/span> builds as layers are added in each new verse.\u00a0 Lovely tremolo guitar and full chorus vocals add much to the track\u2019s vibe.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0More \u2018jangly guitar\u2019 carries <\/span>A Walk With You<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>Loneliest Girl<\/span><\/i>, both songs that could have come straight off of a Smithereens album.\u00a0 <\/span>Stuck on the Tracks <\/span><\/i>has a clip-clop rhythm and lap steel guitar base that bears witness to the \u2018country girl\u2019 in James.\u00a0 One of the things I loved about The Doors albums back in the day was drummer John Densmore\u2019s ability to introduce jazz and latin beats into their hit songs.\u00a0 I find the same bounce in the rhythm and guitar lines in the title track, <\/span>Till I Turn Blue.\u00a0 O.Winston Link, You\u2019re Still the Highlight, <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>Isn\u2019t Anybody Coming?\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>end the record with a strong flourish.\u00a0 The chorus of the last track seems to be a sad reflection about war (or just about our times) (<\/span>This is a war that we have not made \/ How high this price we\u2019ve got to pay? \/ Isn\u2019t anybody coming to our aid?<\/span><\/i>), but yet it left me feeling like all is not lost.\u00a0 Whether or not Peggy meant it as a rallying cry to move people past the malaise we might be feeling with things in such turmoil, I heard it that way.\u00a0 When we are on the bubble, who will come to our aid if we don\u2019t aid others who are in trouble?\u00a0 The song rises beyond being a simple anti-war anthem for the new millennium – it is a call for empathy we all need to hear.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I do not think I have been too effusive in my praise of Peggy\u2019s catalog of work.\u00a0 Her last two albums (<\/span>Paint Still Wet <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>The Parade<\/span><\/i>) were released in 2020 and 2021.\u00a0 Both made it into the Top 100 of <\/span>Goldmine<\/span><\/i> magazine\u2019s year end list of <\/span>Fabulous Songs.\u00a0 Till I Turn Blue<\/span><\/i> is her seventh\u00a0 album and the fourth produced by guitarist \/ multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire Jim Eannelli.\u00a0 He has proven over and over that he and James know how to arrange her songs for maximum effect.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Eannelli reminds me of a story Jeff \u2018Skunk\u2019 Baxter tells about working with famed studio guitarist Tommy Tedesco.\u00a0 At one session they worked together, the producer kept changing his mind about what he wanted on a track.\u00a0 Every time he suggested Tedesco try a different instrument, Tommy would bend down behind the baffle and pick up the requested instrument, be it a baritone guitar, bazzouki, electric guitar, or whatnot. \u00a0 He would then play a sample for the producer who eventually said, \u201cYeah, that\u2019s the one I want.\u201d\u00a0 When the session ended, Skunk looked over the baffle and saw the only instrument Tedesco had with him was one guitar.\u00a0 Baxter said he learned it was all in Tedesco\u2019s hands and it added a whole new meaning to what the term \u2018multi-instrumentalist\u2019 meant.\u00a0 I am not sure how many instruments Eannelli uses (or if he has worked for the Department of Defense like Baxter did for a while), but I can hear what he brings to the party on Peggy\u2019s albums and it is all good.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0With a release date of June 27, 2025 on Happy Growl Records, look for the album at record stores or at <\/span>E-Bay.com<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 More information can be found at <\/span>facebook.com\/PeggyJamesMusician<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Many thanks to our friend Gary Tanin at Daystorm Music for sending us an advanced copy of <\/span>Till I Turn Blue.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0 It is high time that Peggy James\u2019reputation as a gifted Americana singer\/songwriter spreads out from the cozy confines of the mid-west and Nashville.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0As I was working my way through <\/span>Till I Turn Blue, <\/span><\/i>I read that a band from across the border had a new album coming out in early June.\u00a0 The band was Triumph, the Rock & Roll Machine. Having recently discussed their guitarist, Rik Emmett (<\/span>FTV:\u00a0 Lay It On The Line – 2-5-25<\/span><\/i>), I couldn\u2019t help but put in a pre-order.\u00a0 The day I posted the Peggy James album review on the WOAS-FM website, <\/span>Magic Power – All-Star Tribute to Triumph <\/span><\/i>magically appeared in my mailbox.\u00a0 Okay, it was \u2018USPS magic power\u2019 and I couldn\u2019t wait to crack it open.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In the liner notes, producer Mike Clink described how the whole thing started:\u00a0 \u201cI was on my way to Los Angeles from Huntsville, Ontario, where I had been working.\u00a0 When I arrived in Toronto, all the flights had been cancelled due to the weather.\u00a0 I checked into a hotel near the airport, getting the last room available.\u00a0 I called Gil [Moore, Triumph\u2019s drummer] to say hello, and when I mentioned that I was snowed in for the evening, he told me to be in the lobby in an hour because he was on his way to take me to dinner.\u00a0 Three feet of snow on the ground and driving was a challenge, but he wouldn\u2019t take no for an answer.\u00a0 [Triumph Bassist] Mike Levine joined us, and as we caught up with our lives, they told me about the documentary about the band that was in the early planning stages.\u00a0 “Wouldn’t it be great to have an album to coincide with the documentary?\u201d Gil asked.\u00a0 And that is the genesis of how the record started.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Another disclaimer before we continue:\u00a0 Tribute albums where other artists perform the honoree\u2019s greatest hits do not always do the songs justice (in my humble opinion).\u00a0 Perhaps this happens because the guest artists try too hard to put their own spin on the material?\u00a0 I am happy to report that Clink\u2019s guiding hand produced an album of exceptional quality with a roster of equally exceptional artists.\u00a0 In his book <\/span>Lay It On The Line, <\/span><\/i>Emmitt made a statement that I disagreed with.\u00a0 He claimed that Triumph was a good band but he always viewed them as a kind of \u2018second tier\u2019 rock \u2018n\u2019 roll band.\u00a0 With the effort this diverse group of musicians put into <\/span>Magic Power<\/span><\/i>, I will lay odds they would also refute Rik\u2019s comment.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Though the album was released in June of 2025, we only need to look at the time line to see the obstacles Clink and company had to overcome to get it done.\u00a0 Clink again:\u00a0 \u201cOn paper, it looked easy enough:\u00a0 enlist the best musicians possible and record Triumph\u2019s biggest hits with a modern twist and new arrangements.\u00a0 What happened next, no one could have predicted;\u00a0 Covid arrived, and the world ground to a halt.\u00a0 It was a strange and challenging time for everyone, including the music business.\u00a0 Recording studios were locked up, tours were canceled, and everyone searched for a way to work and make a living.\u201d\u00a0 Nothing like a world-wide pandemic to derail a great idea, right?\u00a0 On the plus side, the down time gave Mike and the band extra time to\u00a0 plan and organize the project.\u00a0 With a list of songs in hand, they began matching which musicians would work best with the songs they picked from Triumph\u2019s vast catalogue of hits.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Clink\u2019s initial idea was to have a core band do the tracks and rotate the lead singers.\u00a0 Triumph has two gifted singers in Gil and Rik, so the door was open to a variety of vocalists.\u00a0 After\u00a0 further discussion, Mike and the band decided to have as many musicians involved as possible. All were given the latitude to put their own unique interpretation on their appointed tracks, but most stuck pretty close to the arrangements from the iconic songs.\u00a0 Clink\u2019s preferred method is to record the band(s) together in the studio so they can play off each other.\u00a0 The list of collaborators on each track is too long to reproduce here, but some of the choices were interesting.\u00a0 I\u00a0 couldn\u2019t wait to hear what they laid down.\u00a0 The singers we will discuss in a bit but among the groupings listed were drummers Brent Fitz, Kenny Aronoff, Josh Freeze, Brian Tichy, and Tommy Aldridge.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Bassists involved included John Spiker, Todd Kerns, and Tony Franklin.\u00a0 The list of guitarists\u00a0 is equally impressive featuring Phil X, Alex Lifeson, Slash, Paul Gilbert, Bumblefoot, Dave Amato, Joel Hoekstra, Reb Beach, and Nita Strauss.\u00a0 The musicians from Canada were less familiar to me but just the same, it was an all-star cast supporting an equally all-star group of vocalists.\u00a0 Some of the musicians were primarily on hand as vocalist including drummer Deen Castronovo (Journey), guitarists Ann Wilson (Heart) and Kyle Gass (Tenacious D), and bassists Jack Blades (Night Ranger) and Jason Scheff (Chicago).\u00a0 Some vocalists Clink approached balked at tackling Triumph\u2019s signature songs and declined to participate.\u00a0 Clink did adjust a few of the tracks by taking the key a step or two down.\u00a0 Gil\u00a0 Moore\u2019s songs tended toward the down and dirty blues\/rock end of the spectrum, but Rik Emmitt\u2019s high tenor range made his songs a bit more of a challenge.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The album kicks off with Sebastian Bach (Skid Row) covering <\/span>24 Hours a Day<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>Rock & Roll Machine.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0 Anthrax\u2019s Joey Belladonna takes on <\/span>Magic Power <\/span><\/i>with Starship\u2019s Micky Thomas covering Spellbound.\u00a0 Both Belladonna and Thomas performed Emmett\u2019s vocal highwire act without missing a beat.\u00a0 One of the first tracks that gained traction on the internet was Dee Snider\u2019s (from Twisted Sister) take on <\/span>Lay It On The Line <\/span><\/i>which also included Tenacious D\u2019s Kyle Gass on background vocals.\u00a0 Snider admits in the liner notes that with Emmett\u2019s vocal range, he had to make some adjustments and do it \u2018my way\u2019.\u00a0 <\/span>Somebody\u2019s Out There<\/span><\/i> featured Styx keyboardist\/vocalist Lawrence Gowan while current Journey drummer\/vocalist Castronovo easily handles <\/span>Never Surrender.\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>Both of them are not ordinarily lead singers in their bands but they did a great job on <\/span>Magic Power.\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>Gowan took on the unenviable task of replacing Dennis DeYoung in Styx and Castronovo\u2019s voice can carry Steve Perry\u2019s original vocals when he spells Journey\u2019s current singer Arnel Pineda.\u00a0 They definitely have the pipes to tackle Triumph songs.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Tesla\u2019s Jeff Keith covers the vocals for\u00a0 <\/span>Hold On<\/span><\/i> and turns in another outstanding performance.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>Jason Scheff holds down the fort on <\/span>Just One Night, <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>I Live For The Weekend<\/span><\/i> vocals are shared by Dorothy and Tyler Connolly. \u00a0 I turned to the album\u2019s insert for help identifying the vocalists on <\/span>Fight The Good Fight <\/span><\/i>(Nancy Wilson)<\/span>, Follow Your Heart <\/span><\/i>Jack Blades<\/span>, <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>Allied Forces <\/span><\/i>(Phil X who also handled all the guitars on the track.\u00a0 Alex Lifeson\u2019s appearance with his new band project Envy of None proved to be the only self contained band to perform.\u00a0 They also put quite a bit of their own spin on <\/span>Blinding Light Show.<\/span><\/i> The album wraps with an encore of <\/span>Fight The Good Fight <\/span><\/i>featuring Dino Jelusik on vocals and Joel Hoekstra on lead guitar<\/span>.\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>With a few more listening sessions and some internet snooping, I will be interested to learn more about the other contributing artists I was not familiar with..<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The day that the album was released, a modified version of Triumph performed a short three song set at the Rogers Festival in Edmonton, Alberta to coincide with the Florida Panthers – Edmonton Oilers NHL Stanley Cup Finals game.\u00a0 The National Hockey Association had been airing a promotional video for the league featuring <\/span>Lay It On The Line<\/span><\/i> during the 2024-25 season.\u00a0 The idea was to emphasize the importance of the five Canadian teams that are still in the NHL.\u00a0 This campaign to connect NHL fans with the Canadian teams during the Stanley Cup Finals using Triumph\u2019s music was a slice of promotional genius.\u00a0 When the band latched on to the NHL campaign to spread the word about the tribute album, it proved their initial pitch to Clink (about having an album to release with the documentary) was right on target.\u00a0 Indeed, that is exactly how I heard about <\/span>Magic Power<\/span><\/i> in the first place.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Bassist Mike Levine was unable to make the show in Edmonton due to a long standing medical appointment he had previously scheduled.\u00a0 He explained the Canadian medical system is great (\u201cLiving in the land of free medicine,\u201d Levine called it) but it takes a long time to get some appointments.\u00a0 Therefore, he could not reschedule and had to miss the reunion.\u00a0 Emmitt and Moore were joined by drummer \/ keyboardist Brent Fitz, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Todd Kerns for their first live public performance since 2008.\u00a0 They had played an \u2018by invitation only\u2019 set for rabid fans at Moore\u2019s Metal Works Studio for the 2022 documentary.\u00a0 This was all hush-hush and even the invited fans, who thought it was going to be more like a \u2018fan convention\u2019, were surprised when the band took the stage.\u00a0 This outing did feature the three original members. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I will say it again;\u00a0 this Tribute album is hands down one of the best I have heard and my hat is off to Mike Clink.\u00a0 Once WOAS-FM 91.5 has the new tower bays installed, listeners can plan on hearing both <\/span>Magic Power<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>Till I Turn Blue<\/span><\/i> in heavy rotation as we test the equipment.\u00a0 WOAS-FM is tentatively slated to be back on the air for the All School Reunion at the end of July.<\/span><\/p>\n Top Piece Video:\u00a0 Sorry, Oilers fans, but there was still optimism prior to the Cup final game two – but works here to explain the Triumph connection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Late in May, I got a sonic treat of epic proportions when Gary Tanin, our friend at Daystorm Music in Milwaukee, sent us an early copy of Peggy James\u2019 new album.\u00a0 First the disclaimer – I have had the opportunity to preview several of Peggy\u2019s albums.\u00a0 With each and every one of them, I 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