R.I.P. 2021

Another year under the shadow of the pandemic, another year away from rock concerts. I still have my tickets for gigs and festivals that were supposed to take place in the spring & summer of 2020 - they have been postponed for 2021, and then again for 2022. You get the impression that time stands still, but that's not quite true: this year, time has robbed us of some of our favorite musicians. Everyone is waiting for politicians and scientists to give the green light for performing in front of a public again. The Rolling Stones and ZZ Top have big tours ahead of them, but Charlie Watts and Dusty Hill will not be there. So let's make the most of the time we still have with our favorite artists, and take some time to mentally say goodbye to those that fell.

Thank you for the music,

Charlie Watts (drummer, The Rolling Stones)

Lee "Scratch" Perry (reggae, dub pioneer)

Phil Spector (producer, creator of "The Wall Of Sound")

John Lawton (singer, Uriah Heep/Lucifer's Friend)

Vic Briggs (guitarist, Eric Burdon And The Animals)

Hilton Valentine (The Animals)

Dusty Hill (bassist, ZZ Top)

Sylvain Sylvain (New York Dolls)

Jimmie Rodgers (country singer)

Mary Wilson (The Supremes)

Chick Corea (jazz pianist)

Nanci Griffith (country singer)

Ron Bushy (drummer, Iron Butterfly)

Gerry Marsden (Gerry & the Pacemakers)

Mike Mitchell (singer/guitarist, The Kingsmen)

Tim Bogert (bassist, Vanilla Fudge/Cactus)

Jon Mark (Mark-Almond, John Mayall)

Michael Nesmith (singer, The Monkees)

Gary "Chicken" Hirst (Drummer, Country Joe and the Fish)

Don Everly (singer, The Everly Brothers)

Gil Bridges (singer/saxophonist, Rare Earth)

Anita Lane (Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds)

Sean Kilkenny (Dog Eat Dog/Mucky Pup guitarist)

Dee Pop (Bush Tetras drummer)

Hank von Helvete (singer, Turbonegro)

Bill Tsamis (guitarist, Warlord)

Susan Anyway (singer, The Magnetic Fields)

Franco Battiato (Italian singer-songwriter)

John Miles (singer, guitarist)

János Kóbor (singer, Hungarian prog rockers Omega)

Robbie Shakespeare (bassist, Sly and Robbie)

Lew Lewis (vocals/harmonica, Eddie and the Hot Rods) 

Mick Bolton (Mott the Hoople, Dexys Midnight Runners)

David Donato (singer, has played with Black Sabbath, White Tiger)

John 'Hutch' Hutchinson (jazz guitarist, David Bowie collaborator)

Alan Cartwright (bassist, Procol Harum)

Chris Barber (British jazz pioneer)

Françoise Cactus (Stereo Total)

Prince Markie Dee (The Fat Boys)

Eric Wagner (singer, Trouble)

Al Collins (Jason & The Scorchers)

Chuck E Weiss (singer/songwriter)

Bob James (singer, Montrose)

Ralph Tavares (singer, R&B band Tavares)

Bunny Wailer ([Bob Marley &] The Wailers)

Keith Allison (bassist, Paul Rever & The Raiders)

Gene Taylor (pianist, Fabulous Thunderbirds/Blasters)

Michael Fonfara (Electric Flag/Lou Reed keyboardist)

Stefan Cush (vocalist/guitarist, Men They Couldn't Hang) 

Mark Keds (singer, Senseless Things/ The Wildhearts)

Anne Feeney (singer-songwriter/activist)

Philip Margo (singer, The Tokens)

Alan Cartwright (bassist, Procol Harum)

James MacGaw (guitarist, Magma)

B.B. Dickerson (bassist,War)

Pat Rizzo (Sly & The Family Stone/War)

Tony Pola (drummer, Beasts of Bourbon)

Phil Chen (bassist, Butts Band)

Neal Ford (singer, Neal Ford & The Fanatics)

Thomas 'Mensi' Mensforth (singer, Angelic Upstarts)

Ralph Schuckett (keyboardist [Todd Rundgren's'] Utopia)

Les Emmerson (singer/guitarist, Five Man Electrical Band)

Brett Bradshaw (drummer, Faster Pussycat) 

LG Petrov (singer, Entombed A.D.) 

Graeme Edge (drummer, The Moody Blues)

Bob Petric (Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments)

Paul Cotton (guitarist/singer, Poco)

Rusty Young (guitarist, Poco)

Barby Kelly (The Kelly Family)

DMX (rapper)

Steve Bronski (singer, Bronski Beat)

Sophie Xeon (DJ, electro-pop musician)

Double K (People Under the Stairs)

Paul Oscher (Muddy Waters' harmonica player ) 

Lars Ratz (bassist, Metallium)

Jim Steinman (producer, songwriter)

Les McKeown (singer, Bay City Rollers) 

Joe Long (bassist, The Four Seasons)

Denny Freeman (blues guitarist)

Paul Couter (guitarist, TC Matic)

Michael Chapman (folk singer/guitarist)

John Hinch (drummer, Judas Priest/Bakerloo)

Lloyd Price (singer, R&B pioneer)

Dr. Lonnie Smith (jazz organist)

Everett Morton (drummer, The Beat)

Nick Kamen (singer)

Louis Clark (keyboardist, ELO/Ozzy Osbourne)

Alix Dobkin (folk singer, songwriter)

Florian Pilkington-Miksa (drummer, Curved Air)

John Davis (the [real] voice of Milli Vanilli)

B. J. Thomas (60's hit singer)

Phil Johnstone (musician, Robert Plant collaborator)

Lil Loaded (rapper)

Don Hill (Saxophonist, The Treniers)

Ellen McIlwaine (singer,songwriter)

Johnny Solinger (singer, Skid Row [post-'99])

Jon Hassell (jazz trumpet player)

Sanford Clark (country/rockabilly singer)

Rick Laird (jazz bassist, Mahavishnu Orchestra)

Raffaella Carrà (Italian pop diva)

Jeff LaBar (guitarist, Cinderella)

Gary Corbett (Keyboardist, Cinderella/Kiss)

Robby Steinhardt (violinist, Kansas)

Joey Jordison (drummer, Slipknot)

Mike Howe (singer, Metal Church)

Johnny Ventura (Dominican singer/bandleader)

Pervis Staples (The Staple Singers)

Roger Hawkins (session drummer, Muscle Shoals studio)

Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas (saxophonist, Kool & the Gang)

Joey Ambrose (saxophonist, Bill Haley & His Comets)

Brian Travers (saxophonist, UB40)

Eric Wagner (singer, Trouble/The Skull/Probot)

Timo Kaltio (bassist, Hanoi Rocks)

Rickie Lee Reynolds (guitarist, Black Oak Arkansas)

Sarah Harding (Girls Aloud)

María Mendiola (singer, Baccara)

Ron Leejack (guitarist, Cactus)

Sarah Dash (singer, LaBelle)

Julz Sale (lead singer, Delta 5)

Tom Stevens (bassist, Long Ryders)

Richard H. Kirk (Cabaret Voltaire)

Pee Wee Ellis (saxophonist, James Brown Band)

Alan Lancaster (bassist, Status Quo)

Richie Albright (drummer, Waylon Jenkins)

George Frayne (pianist/singer AKA "Commander Cody")

Barry Ryan (60's pop singer)

Greg Gilbert (singer, Delays)

Grady Gaines (R&B saxophonist)

Pat Fish (The Jazz Butcher)

Andrea Meyer (Cradle of Filth)

Richard H Kirk (Cabaret Voltaire)

Fritz McIntyre (keyboards, Simply Red)

Ron Tutt (drummer for Neil Diamond, Elvis Presley)

Mike Finnigan (keyboards, Hendrix/CS&N)

John Drake (singer, The Amboy Dukes)

Don Maddox (contry singer/fiddler)

Tom T Hall (country singer)

Einár (Swedish rapper)

Deon Estus (bassist, Wham!)

Jay Black (singer, Jay and the Americans)

Willie Cobbs (blues singer)

Randy Parton (country singer)

Tony Markellis (bassist, Trey Anastasio Band)

Will Mecum (guitarist, Karma to Burn)

Wondress (singer, Mantronix)

Alvin "Seeco" Patterson (percussionist, Wailers)

Ronnie Wilson (The Gap Band)

Terence "Astro" Wilson (Percussion/trumpet/vocals, UB40)

Andrew Barker (keyboardist /bassist, 808 State)

John Goodsall (guitarist, Brand X/ Atomic Rooster)

Billy Hinsche (member of The Beach Boys touring band)

David Longdon (singer, Big Big Train)

Darrell Bath (guitarist. Ian Hunter) 

Alexi Laiho (singer, Children Of Bodom)

Melvin Parker (drummer, James Brown)

Stonewall Jackson (country singer)

Roger Newell (bassist, Rick Wakeman's band)

John Rossall (saxophonist, The Glitter Band) 

Jem Targal (Third Power bassist/co-vocalist)

Hank Carter III (saxophonist, George Thorogood’s Destroyers)

David Lasley (singer/background vocalist for Chic)

Charles Connor (drummer, Little Richard)

Joe Simon (soul/R&B singer)

Billy Conway (drummer, Morphine)

2021 - End Of The Year retrospectives

Every year about this time, I buy the music magazines for their "Best Of The Year" retrospectives. It used to be MOJO, UNCUT, Q, and Classic Rock. Then Q kicked the bucket sometime in the beginning of the pandemic. Classic Rock  stopped giving away CD's. The new issue is out but I don't think I'll buy it this year, because without the free CD it's just not worth €12 any more. But I thought I'll present their Best Of 2021 List anyway - they're interesting to me because they're so different from the rest of the music press. I mean, Iron Maiden on Number 1? In 2021? Seriously? On the other hand... duh! For some people out there, there's no choice more obvious! Certainly more obvious than MOJO's Number 1 (and Uncut's No.2) Promises by Pharoah Sanders and Floating Points. I mean, what's that? When these magazines reviewed this album, they gave it 4* (Mojo) and 3,5* (Uncut). How come they bypassed all the 5* records, and chose this one? I think what happened is that the editor of MOJO thought he'd show his subordinates how original he is by choosing a jazz record for album of the year while they're hard at work trying to think up something new to write about Dylan, The Beatles, or The Stones (who together account for 70% of the magazine's articles). Then the editor of Uncut thought "what the hell? I can be a stuck up snob, too!" and put the same album on number 2 - because it's Uncut, and obviously it has to have an Americana artist on number 1 (Weather Station's Ignorance, in this case). Don't get me wrong - I love jazz. I listened to "Movement 1" from this album (both publications featured it in this month's covermount CD), and it's fantastic for falling asleep to. Then I played the whole album in my dental practice, and none of my patients noticed something was playing - isn't that the very definition of ambient music? For this one, think Brian Eno meets Miles Davis' Kind Of Blue with the strings playing the soundtrack of Lawrence Of Arabia in the background. If that sounds like really good music, let me tell you it is!  It may very well be the jazz album of the year. But it's jazz! There's no serious competition, all the great jazz musicians are dead! Except, obviously, for Pharaoh Sanders who is 81 years young. Another album highly rated by both publications was Nick Cave and Warren Ellis' Carnage. I've been a huge fan of Cave's work since the mid-80's, and there's some great material on Carnage, but can I be honest here? I think he's been relying on Ellis a bit too much for his own good. What's with all the synths lately? Bring The Bad Seeds back, please! The Coral are apparently bringing back the concept album with Coral Island. They are a good band, and the reviews have me convinced their new CD may have a place in this year's Christmas stocking. When she first appeared, I thought that Lana Del Rey was just the latest pop idol, but she has proved time and again that she's got real depth. Chemtrails Over the Country Club got good reviews. I'm sure they're well deserved, a bit less sure that I want to collect her whole discography. No matter how consistently good, she's just not one of the artists I can't get enough of. Robert Plant, with the exception of his 80's period, is. His new collaboration with Alison Krauss, Raise The Roof  made the Best-Of list of all three magazines. Other albums with a similar unanimous appreciation are Lindsey Buckingham's eponymous solo LP, David Crosby's For Free (the old hippy is on a roll, lately), The War on Drugs' I Don't Live Here Anymore, Paul Weller's Fat Pop (Volume 1) and, probably the most surprising of all, Mdou Moctar's Afrique Victime. What does it take for a poor guitarist from The Niger to find himself in the company of all these legends? huge fucking talent, that's what! The man sounds like Van Halen on one song, like John Lee Hooker on another, and like an African nomad playing a desert gathering on another (which he is, and probably does all the time). I thought of adding it to my Christmas list, but finally settled on the previous year's Optimisme by Moctar's neighbors, Timbuktu's Songhoy Blues. Lastly, Classic Rock surprises us once more by including albums by Styx(!), Thunder(!!), and Cheap Trick(!!!). Who even knew those bands still exist? I'm not surprised anymore by the addition of 90's alt-rockers like Garbage, Weezer, Manic Street Preachers, and Foo Fighters - that magazine has a warped idea of what constitutes Classic Rock.

UNCUT 75. Rose City Band - Earth Trip 74. Rosali - No Medium 73. Sleater-Kinney - Path of Wellness 72. Marianne Faithfull With Warren Ellis - She Walks In Beauty 71. Buffalo Nichols - Buffalo Nichols 70. black midi - Cavalcade 69. Dave - We're All Alone In This Together 68. Cathal Coughlan - Song of Co-Aklan 67. Lucy Dacus - Home Video 66. Sarah Davachi - Antiphonals 65. Moor Mother - Black Encyclopedia of the Air 64. Pino Palladino & Blake Mills - Notes With Attachments 63. Chris Schlarb & Chad Taylor - Time No Changes 62. Sufjan Stevens & Angelo De Augustine - A Beginner’s Mind 61. The Besnard Lakes - The Besnard Lakes Are the Last of the Great Thunderstorm Warnings 60. Grouper - Shade 59. Strand of Oaks - In Heaven 58. Big Red Machine - How Long Do You Think It's Gonna Last? 57. Haiku Salut - The Hill, The Light, The Ghost 56. Damon & Naomi - A Sky Record 55. LoneLady - Former Things 54. Daniel Bachman - Axacan 53. The Black Keys - Delta Kream 52. Damon Locks Black Monument Ensemble - Now 51. Yasmin Williams - Urban Driftwood 50. Lindsey Buckingham - Lindsey Buckingham 49. Sunburned Hand Of The Man - Pick A Day To Die 48. David Crosby - For Free 47. Elephant9 - Arrival of the New Elders 46. Israel Nash - Topaz 45. Bobby Gillespie & Jehnny Beth - Utopian Ashes 44. Rhiannon Giddens With Francesco Turrisi - They're Calling Me Home 43. My Morning Jacket - My Morning Jacket 42. Faye Webster - I Know I'm Funny haha 41. Damon Albarn - The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows 40. Sturgill Simpson - The Ballad of Dood & Juanita 39. Squid - Bright Green Field 38. Madlib - Sound Ancestors 37. Dean Wareham - I Have Nothing to Say to the Mayor of L A 36. Arab Strap - As Days Get Dark 35. John Murry - The Stars Are God's Bullet Holes 34. Courtney Barnett - Things Take Time, Take Time 33. Chuck Johnson - The Cinder Grove 32. The Hold Steady - Open Door Policy 31. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - Raise The Roof 30. Teenage Fanclub - Endless Arcade 29. Steve Gunn - Other You 28. Ryley Walker - Course In Fable 27. Arlo Parks - Collapsed In Sunbeams 26. Paul Weller - Fat Pop (Volume 1) 25. Jane Weaver - Flock 24. Valerie June - The Moon And Stars: Prescriptions For Dreamers 23. St. Vincent - Daddy's Home 22. The Coral - Coral Island 21. Little Simz - Sometimes I Might Be Introvert 20. Modern Nature - Island Of Noise 19. John Grant - Boy from Michigan 18. Hiss Golden Messenger - Quietly Blowing It 17. Dry Cleaning - New Long Leg 16. Sleaford Mods - Spare Ribs 15. Mogwai - As the Love Continues 14. Saint Etienne - I've Been Trying To Tell You 13. Mdou Moctar - Afrique Victime 12. Sons of Kemet - Black To The Future 11. Lana Del Rey - Chemtrails Over the Country Club 10. Richard Dawson & Circle - Henki 9. Black Country, New Road - For the first time 8. The War on Drugs - I Don't Live Here Anymore 7. Cassandra Jenkins - An Overview On Phenomenal Nature 6. Arooj Aftab - Vulture Prince 5. SAULT - Nine 4. Low - Hey What 3. Nick Cave & Warren Ellis - CARNAGE 2. Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra - Promises 1. The Weather Station - Ignorance

MOJO 75. BLK JKS - Abantu/Before Humans 74. Gruff Rhys - Seeking New Gods 73. Stephen Fretwell - Busy Guy 72. Hiss Golden Messenger - Quietly Blowing It 71. Emma-Jean Thackray - Yellow 70. black midi - Cavalcade 69. Dinosaur Jr. - Sweep It Into Space 68. Loretta Lynn - Still Woman Enough 67. AC/DC - Power Up 66. Lucy Dacus - Home Video 65. Godspeed You! Black Emperor - G_d's Pee AT STATE'S END! 64. Tony Allen - There Is No End 63. Howlin' Rain - The Dharma Wheel 62. Parquet Courts - Sympathy for Life 61. Steve Gunn - Other You 60. Cedric Burnside - I Be Trying 59. Billy F Gibbons - Hardware 58. Ryley Walker - Course In Fable 57. Reigning Sound - A Little More Time with Reigning Sound 56. Lorde  53. Angel Bat Dawid & Tha Brothahood - LIVE 52. Nathan Salsburg - Psalms 51. Dean Blunt - Black Metal 2 50. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy & Matt Sweeney - Superwolves 49. Public Service Broadcasting - Bright Magic 48. Squid - Bright Green Field 47. Tyler, the Creator - CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST 46. Faye Webster - I Know I'm Funny haha 45. Jungle - Loving In Stereo 44. Arab Strap - As Days Get Dark 43. Damon Albarn - The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows 42. Durand Jones & The Indications - Private Space 41. Nala Sinephro - Space 1.8 40. Chrissie Hynde - Standing in the Doorway: Chrissie Hynde Sings Dylan 39. Jane Weaver - Flock 38. Saint Etienne - I've Been Trying To Tell You 37. Sturgill Simpson - Cuttin' Grass - Vol. 2 (Cowboy Arms Sessions) 36. Wolf Alice - Blue Weekend 35. The Stranglers - Dark Matters 34. Greentea Peng - MAN MADE 33. Endless Boogie - Admonitions 32. Paul McCartney - McCartney III 31. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - L.W. 30. Yola - Stan 27. Lindsey Buckingham - Lindsey Buckingham 26. Mogwai - As the Love Continues 25. The Black Keys - Delta Kream 24. SAULT - Nine 23. Teenage Fanclub - Endless Arcade 22. Amyl & The Sniffers - Comfort to Me 21. The Bug - Fire 20. Mdou Moctar - Afrique Victime 19. David Crosby - For Free 18. Idles - CRAWLER 17. The War on Drugs - I Don't Live Here Anymore 16. Manic Street Preachers - The Ultra Vivid Lament 15. Dry Cleaning - New Long Leg 14. Black Country, New Road - For the first time 13. Sleaford Mods - Spare Ribs 12. The Weather Station - Ignorance 11. John Grant - Boy from Michigan 10. Villagers - Fever Dreams 9. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss - Raise The Roof 8. Sons of Kemet - Black To The Future 7. The Coral - Coral Island 6. Paul Weller - Fat Pop (Volume 1) 5. Nick Cave & Warren Ellis - CARNAGE 4. Low - Hey What 3. Lana Del Rey - Chemtrails Over the Country Club 2. St. Vincent - Daddy's Home 1. Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra - Promises

CLASSIC ROCK 50 MONSTER MAGNET A Better Dystopia 49 PAUL WELLER Fat Pop 48 HAWKWIND Somnia 47 VEGA Anarchy And Unity 46 DAVID CROSBY For Free 45 THE WAR ON DRUGS I Don’t Live Here Anymore 44 THE DEAD DAISIES Holy Ground 43 WEEZER Van Weezer 42 JERRY CANTRELL Brighten 41 THE STRANGLERS Dark Matters 40 THE RECORD COMPANY Play Loud 39 GARBAGE No Gods No Masters 38 DENNIS DEYOUNG 26 East Vol 2 F 37 SAMANTHA FISH Faster 36 BLACKBERRY SMOKE You Hear Georgia 35 GOJIRA Fortitude 34 AMYL AND THE SNIFFERS Comfort To Me 33 PRINCE Welcome 2 America 32 DANKO JONES Power Trio 31 BUCKCHERRY Hellbound 30 INGLORIOUS We Will Ride 29 ROBERT PLANT & ALISON KRAUSS Raise The Roof 28 STYX Crash Of The Crown 27 BIFFY CLYRO The Myth Of Happily Ever After 26 MASON HILL Against The Wall 25 THE DEAD DEADS Tell Your Girls It’s Alright 24 MASTODON Hushed & Grim 23 DEEP PURPLE Turning To Crime 22 AYRON JONES Child Of The State 21 GRETA VAN FLEET The BattleAt Garden’s Gate 20 THE DUST CODA Mojo Skyline 19 MYLES KENNEDY The Ides Of March 18 MDOU MOCTAR Afrique Victime 17 THE DARKNESS Motorheart 16 WOLF ALICE Blue Weekend 15 ALICE COOPER Detroit Stories 14 THE BYSON FAMILY Kick The Traces 13 CHEAP TRICK In Another World 12 THUNDER All The Right Noises 11 BIG BIG TRAIN Common Ground 10 FOO FIGHTERS Medicine At Midnight 9 LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM Lindsey Buckingham 8 MANIC STREET PREACHERS The Ultra Vivid Lament 7 ROYAL BLOOD Typhoons 6 STEVEN WILSON The Future Bites 5 BILLY F GIBBONS Hardware 4 JOE BONAMASSA Time Clocks 3 THE WILDHEARTS 21st Century Love Songs 2 MAMMOTH WVH Mammoth WVH 1 IRON MAIDEN Senjutsu

Jimmy Page and The Black Crowes "Live at the Greek" 2000***

It's been more than 20 years since this album came out, and I remember feeling conflicted about whether I should buy it. On the one hand I hoped that it would be great: Like every other red-blooded rock fan, I love Led Zeppelin, which of course also means Page's guitar playing. Since Zeppelin disbanded, his releases have been few and far between, but he rarely revisited their classics on record. I enjoyed the couple of albums he made with Robert Plant, but they were both too different to their old band. Plant had taken his distance from hard rock, and as a consequence Page's playing was also too restrained. Even when they did play Zeppelin classics together, it was with a new twist: more acoustic, and with different arrangements. Then they went their separate ways anyway, and hopes for a Zeppelin reunion were quashed once more. So Page's return alongside a younger hard rock group was a good omen: he'd surely now be able to cut loose on the guitar. On the other hand, there were doubts: For starters, would the old man be able to stand the comparison to his virile young self? Nowadays that seems a little laughable: Page was still only 55; twenty years later, his contemporaries (Clapton, Richards, Jeff Beck) still play their old hits without fear of disgracing their legacies. Secondly, and more importantly, could anyone other than Robert Plant sing these songs and do them justice? Live at the Greek was recorded during a two-night gig at the Greek Theater in L.A. Page and the band have incredible chemistry and are obviously enjoying themselves. They don't replicate Zeppelin's majesty and mystique, but display playfulness and easy affinity with the material. The arrangements do not deviate much from the originals, but there's room for stretching out, including some nice piano and harmonica solos that bring the songs closer to Southern Rock territory. Chris Robinson sings his ass off, successfully emulating Plant's style even though his voice is quite different - when he was singing "You Shook Me" he didn't remind me of the Led Zeppelin version, but the one by the Jeff Beck Group with Rod Stewart on vocals. Ditto during the cover of The Yardbirds' "Shape Of Things To Come". The song choices seem a bit random at first: it's not "the best of Led Zeppelin" - hell, there isn't a single track from their most popular album (Led Zeppelin IV, Four Symbols, or however you want to call it - they never named it). But, by including a few B-list numbers, they do more to remind us how great Zeppelin were than if they played the familiar hits like "Stairway To Heaven" and "Black Dog". There are a couple of crowd pleasers from II ("Heartbreaker", "Whole Lotta Love"), as well as blues workouts ("In My Time Of Dying", "The Lemon Song", "Nobody's Fault But Mine", "You Shook Me"), folkier tunes ("What Is And What Should Never Be", "Ten Years Gone", "Your Time Is Gonna Come"), and the atypically poppy B-side "Hey Hey What Can I Do".  Above all, there's a heathy dose of hard rock ("Celebration Day", "Custard Pie", "Sick Again", "Out On The Tiles"). But, competent as the Zeppelin covers are, the singer and band sound more natural and relaxed during the blues covers ("Woke Up This Morning", "Sloppy Drunk", "Mellow Down Easy", "Shake Your Money Maker") and Fleetwood Mac's ""Oh Well". Everyone's being themselves instead of trying to sound like Led Zeppelin. I know that everybody was there to hear Page perform classic Zeppelin (I would, too), but these blues covers are the highlight of the record for me. I wish he dipped into that well more often, rather than offer mediocre original compositions like he did in the rare occasions he did resurface after the group disbanded. Incidentally, a few Black Crowes songs were performed during the L.A. shows, but they have never surfaced due to contractual reasons. After the success of these concerts, Page and The Crowes decided to take the show on the road, only to have the tour cut in half when Page packed it up and left. Health problems were cited as the reason, although according to others it was (guitarist) Rich Robinson's fault for insulting Page by turning down his idea to write new songs together. This aural document of their cooperation was released as a souvenir of their short time together - initially very limitedly, and then more widely on TVT Records. It was very well received by an audience starved for live Led Zeppelin material - and rightly so: if the original band had stayed together and sounded this good in 2000, nobody would complain. Except that... the original band (with Jason Bonham taking his father's place beside the drums) did get together one last time in 2007, and they sounded way better than anybody could have expected - the resulting live album Celebration Day is easily better than Live At The Greek,  rendering it superfluous. Effectively, with the exception of the one-off Zeppelin reunion, Page retired as a performer after breaking up with The Black Crowes - he hasn't made another record or toured. Which is a great pity, because he's the only one who could have kept Led Zeppelin's legacy alive, and there's every indication that he had been up to the task all along, if only Plant was a willing collaborator or if he could find a suitable replacement. Now, it's unfortunately too late - or is it?

**** for Sick Again, Woke Up This Morning, In My Time Of Dying, Your Time Is Gonna Come, Nobody's Fault But Mine, Heartbreaker, Hey Hey What Can I Do, Mellow Down Easy, Shake Your Money Maker, Whole Lotta Love

*** for Celebration Day, Custard Pie, What Is And What Should Never Be, Shape Of Things To Come, Sloppy Drunk, Ten Years Gone, The Lemon Song, Oh Well, You Shook Me, Out On The Tiles

Villagers Of Ioannina City "Age Of Aquarius" 2019****

Having recently reviewed The Hu, I couldn't help but make the connection to the Villagers Of Ioannina City (VIC), which is in some ways their Greek counterpart. Their breakthrough album Age Of Aquarius came out on the same year with Gereg, getting a worldwide release from Napalm Records the following year, and gained positive reviews. Similarly to The Hu, VIC mix hard rock with elements of local folk music, utilizing traditional instruments. Unlike them, they refuse to dumb down their music: this rich stew of Greek folk, metal and psychedelia, may not have you punching the air and singing along - though headbanging is a strong possibility. The first thing that caught my attention regarding this band was their awkward name: "villagers" and "city" don't go that well together, do they? Mind you, despite being the biggest city in the Epirus province, Ioannina is hardly a modern metropolis: a medium-sized city perched by Lake Pamvotis, it has 100,000 inhabitants and is renowned for its university and for the beauty of its surroundings. Epirus in general is a wild and mountainous place, with thick forests and rivers. One of them, river Acheron, was believed to lead to the underworld; on its banks there was the famous Necromanteion, a place where the priests of Hades communicated with the dead. Death casts its shade over Epirotan music as well; one of its most famous genres is moiroloi (lament for the dead), characterized by slow and prolonged vocals or instrumental phrases. The other kind of Epirotan music is reserved for feasts and festivals, and it's based on the piercing sounds of the klarino (clarinet) and gaida (bagpipes) as well as the more melodic fiddle. This music, despite being slower and heavier than the jaunty tunes of the Greek islands, has an ancient Bacchic quality to it, inviting you to dance. It is bucolic in a literal sense, since Epirotan villagers have always mainly been sheep and goat herders, and their lifestyle has hardly changed in millennia. I'm guessing that, by calling themselves Villagers of Ioannina City, they want to stretch their bonds to the ancient pagan tradition which still largely lives in the music and customs of Epirotan villages.

The klarino and gaida are very much present in VIC's music, along with the floghera - an end-blown flute used by Greek shepherds since ancient times, it produces a sweeter, more pastoral sound. Next to those, the arrangements add touches of 60's - 70's psychedelia, including groovy Hammond, heavy guitars, and on some cases backing vocals. This album begins with a short semi-acoustic piece called "Welcome" marked by powerful singing. The vocals throughout the album are very strong, and remind me of the golden age of grunge vocalists, specifically Eddie Vedder and the late Layne Staley. I don't detect a Greek accent, but maybe that's because I'm Greek myself? This segues into "Age Of Aquarius", a heavy/space rock number with a suitably pagan/mystical theme. "Part V" is a proggier piece, reminiscent of Tool or the heavier side of Porcupine Tree. There's a rich heavy psychedelic scene in Greece at the moment, with bands like Chickn, Planet Of Zeus, 1000 Mods, the poppier Prins Obi and Baby Guru, and of course the patriarchs of Greek Stoner rock, Nightstalker - all worth your attention. VOIC certainly fit into this scene, but the use of traditional elements also sets them apart from the rest. Up to this part of the CD, the Epirotan influence wasn't all that evident, except for the elongated vocal which is reminiscent of moiroloi. This all changes with "Dance Of The Night", which is strongly influenced by Greek pagan lore and the aforementioned festival music, and which places the clarinet and bagpipes in the forefront. Here is a song that makes you want to drink strong tsipouro, and to dance naked under the stars like the followers of Dionysus did in the ancient times. It is followed by a short folk instrumental called "Arrival". "Father Sun" and "Millennium Blues" continue on the same heavy/psychedelic/folk path, neither adding to nor subtracting from the album's worth. "Cosmic Soul" plays down the folk element, giving off a more new-wavey Madrugada-meets-Porcupine Tree vibe, and augmenting it with lots of distorted guitars. Like most of the songs that preceded it, it goes on for more than 8 minutes; something that, despite the loudness, gives them a hypnotic quality. "For the Innocent" is faster and shorter, rendering it the best-suited for radioplay. The CD closes with "Sparkle out of Black Hole", at 2:30 more of a coda than a standalone tune - almost the mirror image of the introduction: where that was a melodic (albeit heavy) vocal piece, this is an experimental instrumental. To round up: This is a highly original but superbly listenable heavy rock and folk hybrid, one of the few alternative/experimental albums that justify their enthusiastic reviews. VIC seem to have struck the perfect balance between folk and rock, local and universal (previous albums were much more folk oriented and had mostly Greek lyrics). Age Of Aquarius getting distribution by Napalm Records is a good start. Hopefully, they have a great international career in front of them. The only requisite is that more people must hear them, so share the link to this page or the youtube videos below with anyone you may know who is interested in intelligent heavy rock music. Your friends will thank you for it!

***** for Age of Aquarius, Part V, Cosmic Soul, For the Innocent

**** for Welcome, Dance of Night , Father Sun, Millennium Blues 

*** for Arrival, Sparkle Out of Black Hole