Iron Maiden 80’s Albums, Singles Reissued on Vinyl
Iron Maiden, the classic heavy metal band founded by bassist Steve Harris (also the group’s chief songwriter), wants you to experience its 1980s music in the way it was first released — on black vinyl. The band has started reissuing its first eight albums on 180-gram black vinyl (it has also previously reissued albums in picture-disc editions), and each black...
Weezer Reunites with Producer Ric Ocasek for Ninth Album
It’s been 20 years since Weezer released its debut self-titled “Blue” album, recorded with producer Rik Ocasek of The Cars. Now, all these years later, the group returned to working with Ocasek (who also produced Weezer’s third effort, also self-titled and known as the “Green” album) on its ninth record, . For bassist Scott Shriner, who joined the band after...
Flying Lotus Album Heavy on The Thundercat
Flying Lotus’ fifth studio album, , started out as a record just for him and bassist Thundercat (Suicidal Tendencies, Erykah Badu). Flying Lotus (real name: Steven Ellison) tells Clash Music that the pair intended to make a double album, but decided to release the Flying Lotus songs first because they were completed earlier. His comments also mean Thundercat (real name:...
Contusion, Featuring Cristian Tisselli, Releases Debut
Cristian Tisselli was the No Treble Reader Spotlight back in May 2012 and now his band, Contusion, has released its self-titled debut album. The Argentinian progressive fusion band cites Allan Holdsworth and Tribal Tech as influences, Tisselli said in that Spotlight piece two years ago. Contusion’s songs have been percolating for a while and live versions of several tunes have...
Alberto Rigoni Uses Music to Comment on “Overloaded” Society
Italian bassist and composer Alberto Rigoni has released his fourth album, . The album’s title refers to the prog-rock composer’s belief that the contemporary world is overloaded — with information/misinformation, hyper-fast communications and more. The record, which features a range of styles, from prog metal to ambient music, is also dedicated to bassist Randy Coven, who died earlier this year,...
Prince Releases Solo Record, Album with 3rdEyeGirl On the Same Day
Only Prince drops two totally different albums in one day. The first, a solo record called , is a return to classic, ’80’s-style Prince funk. The stuff is unmistakable. Prince produced, arranged, composed and performed the music on the album, along with Joshua Welton, according to the Sacramento Bee. Welton is a young producer and husband of drummer Hanna Ford...
Bill Laswell, David Smith and John Zorn Go Dark Ambient on “The Dream Membrane”
During his long career as a bassist and producer Bill Laswell has always defied expectation, working in almost every genre, from funk and jazz to world and ambient music. And he continues to do so with his latest collaborative project. The Dream Membrane features David Chaim Smith reading selections from his work, “The Awakening Ground”, over dark ambient music from...
Bass Legend Jerry Jemmott Releases Eclectic Album with All-Star Lineup
If you love R&B, soul and jazz bass you know and love Jerry Jemmott, who popped up again on national TV recently backing Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin on The Late Show With David Letterman. A two-time Grammy winner, Jemmott was discovered by saxophonist/bandleader King Curtis, gained fame as a session player in the 1960s and started a solo career...
Meshuggah Offers Up New Live Recording on “The Ophidian Trek”
Dick Lövgren is a bassist as at home playing jazz as metal. While he’s a trained jazz bassist, since 2004 he’s been more well-known for his work with Swedish experimental metal band Meshuggah. His Meshuggah sound, created by playing with a pick exclusively, is evident on the band’s second live recording, CD/DVD set , which documents a May 2013 London...
Supergroup Flying Colors Releases Second Album
Wow. Flying Colors kicks into the second song of its second album, , with a big ol’ blast of bass, courtesy of Dave LaRue. Just check out “Mask Machine” in the video we featured yesterday. Flying Colors is the creation of former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy, LaRue and guitarist Steve Morse (both known for their work in the Dixie...
Previously Unreleased Live Set by Charlie Haden and Jim Hall Available on New Record
We lost legendary jazz double bassist Charlie Haden this summer, but he lives on through his music – that includes music that few people have had a chance to hear, until now. The Impulse! label has issued a previously unreleased performance of Haden and jazz guitarist Jim Hall (Hall died in December 2013, just a little more than 6 months...
Rich Brown Releases Solo Bass Album
Toronto electric bassist Rich Brown, known for his widely varied studio work as well as his playing in the group Gamak and the modern jazz band he leads, rinsethealgorithm, has released a solo bass record, . The album, which features solo and multi-tracked bass compositions, includes a wide range of textures from his cover of Little Dragon’s “Twice” to the...