[pb_vidembed title=”” caption=”” url=”http://vimeo.com/29273575″ type=”vem” w=”480″ h=”270″]I love it when artists look at the mundane and make music with it! The fun really starts at 00:54
Hit Man Returns: Music Review
September 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment
When I was in Edmonton this past summer, my dear friend John played me a DVD from the David Foster concert “Hit Man Returns”, the follow-up to the 2008 “Hit Man”. While there is a CD, it is a shortened 11 song selection. What follows is a review of the DVD version of the show.
David was introduced to the crowd by 2 Olympian skaters, Kristi Yamaguchi and Brian Boitano, both of whom have skated and performed to David Foster’s music back when they were actively competing. David nails his “Winter Games” Theme from the Calgary 1988 Games.
Kenny Loggins joins the stage with a couple of songs, "Heart to Heart" and "Forever". He was followed by Gary Wright, one of those artists that I have never seen, but certainly heard. "Dreamweaver" was very tastefully done.
Chaka Khan’s first appearance (one can never get enough Chaka) was her signature "Through the Fire". It was spot-on Chaka, accompanied by the EWF horn section.
Next, "All-4-One" took the stage, more of the stage that is… They are a little bigger now. They nailed two of their chart toppers "I Can Love You Like That" and "I Swear".
Natalie Cole is so elegant. Her voice, sultry while mellow, gives me chills. “When I Fall In Love”, is a wonderful duet with American Idol champion Ruben Studdard.
Jackie Evancho – of “America’s Got Talent”, has the voice of an angel. Her interpretation of “Pie Jesu” is outstanding and her innocence is disarming. She was followed by the "Canadian Tenors".
Michael Bolton and Seal (may I say, that guy can flat out sing!), perform an interesting medley of "When a Man Loves a Woman" and "It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World", which segued to Chaka Khan’s "I’m Every Woman".
David Foster described "Earth Wind & Fire" as his favorite band of all time. They open the second act with a horn filled explosion: “In the Stone”, “September” and a little “After The Love Has Gone”. Seriously, these guys sound better than ever. The band is unparalleled in groove and tightness.
For a change of pace, Lara Fabian presented an enthralling version of "Caruso".
A major shift happens, when some Broadway artists presented the tear-jerker “Say You Remember It” from “Betty Boop: The Musical”
A sharp contrast follows when Ne-Yo sings “Miss Independence”. He’s joined by Charice, doing her best impression of Michael Jackson on “Earth Song”, climaxing with the lament of a howling slide guitar, magnificently played by Robert Randolph.
Martina McBride does a whimsical rendition of Chaplin’s classic, “Smile”, followed by a powerful “We’ve Got Tonight”.
Ruben Studdard returns to the stage to sing the almost over-sung “Home”. In my opinion, his take on this Foster tune makes the others pale in comparison.
The vocal highlight of the concert is Charice singing "All By Myself", a performance way beyond her young age. She nailed it, and was rewarded with the longest standing ovation of the night.
What would a David Foster concert be without “The Prayer”?! Laura Fabian is joined by Michael Bolton in a respectable presentation. However, this is not the quintessential version of this now landmark piece.
The incomparable Donna Summer closes out the concert with a quartet of tunes. Seal joins her for a couple, and she ends the show with the appropriately titled "Last Dance".
Tchaikovsky Time-lapse
September 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment
[pb_vidembed title=”” caption=”” url=”http://vimeo.com/27953845″ type=”vem” w=”480″ h=”270″]
The Most Powerful Home Sound System in the World (34 Photos)
September 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Anyone who listens to music has dreamt about buying huge ass speakers and putting his favorite classic music on the full for their neighbors. But this dude went beyond just buying awesome sound system, and made all other fans of sound look like a broken bike on a F1 race. 
Top 10 songwriting partnerships
August 26, 2011 By 1 Comment
Top ten songwriting duos better known for dominating generations after generations and providing an elegant platform for musical arena.
10. John-Taupin:
Elton John and Bernie Taupin started their songwriting partnership in 1967, with an insignificant composition “Scarecrow.” Despite of initial barriers and failures, they continued their job and eventually emerged as a hit-making machine. Till the date, this pair have fathered more than 30 albums with some of them creating a new milestone in song writing arena. Some of their notable works are – “Your Song,” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,” “Daniel,” “I’s still standing,” “Nikita” etc.
9. Jagger-Richards:
Founding members of “The Rolling Stones” and better known by their pseudonym “The Glimmer Twins,” the songwriting partnership of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards is often compared with the pair of Lennon-McCartney. They started their journey in 1964 with “Tell Me” which was very soon popularized among youths and music lovers. Later, they created “Wild Horse,” “Get Off of My Cloud,” “As Tears Go By” and many other critically acclaimed songs.
8. Becker-Fagen:
Walter Becker and Donald Fagen were the co-founders of the rock band “Steely Dan.” They met while attending the Bard College in New York and very soon became close pals due to their identical tastes in music. The then music was everything for these guys and they struggled a lot intensify their capabilities on musical platform. Their lyrics were notable for comprising themes revolving around crime, love affairs, sarcasm and drugs.
7. Strummer-Jones:
One of the best songwriting pairs in punk rock music genre, Joe Strummer and Mick Jones were the founding members of “The Clash.” Highly influenced by the “Sex Pistols,” duo mega-performers wrote several hit songs including “Sightsee M.C.,” “Beyond the Pale,” “V. Thirteen” and many others that were enough to make the youths crazy like hell.
6. Gamble-Huff:
Credited for fathering over 170 gold and platinum records, Kenneth Gamble and Leon A. Huff are better known in the musical arena for establishing Philadelphia International Records. Coming to prominence after the success of “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me” and evolving the “Philadelphia Soul,” this pair is managed to have their names inducted into “The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame” in the non-performer category.
5. Simon-Garfunkel:
Better known for their tremendous hits “The Sound of Silence,” “Hazy Shade of Winter,” “I Am a Rock” and many others that later ruled the “Grammys” and the “Rock and Rock Hall of Fame,” Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel were childhood friends, living just block away from each other. Despite of their break-up, duo have been ruling the soft rock culture by their impeccable style of presenting inner feelings.
4. Page-Plant:
The guys behind the “Led Zeppelin,” Jimmy Page and Robert Plant are and will be a pair of diamond for mainstream music composition industry for their red-letter performance in “No Quarter: Jimmy Page and Robert Plant Unledded.” This historical songwriting partnership provided the youth generation a music that was never heard around the world.
3. Leiber-Stoller:
Admired for their breathtaking musical beauties – “On Broadway,” “Jailhouse Rock,” “Hound Dog,” “Kansas City” and other ground breaking hits in trail, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller were famous for using humorous jargon of the teens in their lyrics. Laureate of endless awards, this songwriting partnership was introduced to “Songwriters Hall of Fame ” and “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame” in 1985 and 1987 respectively.
2. Tyler-Perry:
Founding members of “Aerosmith,” Steven Tyler and Joe Perry came to prominence after incredible success of “Toys in the Attic” and “Rocks.” Their writing style was much more identical to “The Beatles” and “The Rolling Stones.” During the time of their success, this pair was given the name “Toxic Twins” due to their rampant use of drugs.
1. Lennon – McCartney:
Better known for covering each other’s shortages and creating outlets for each other’s potencies, the legendary songwriting partnership of John Lennon and Sir Paul McCartney is far beyond the parameters of exemplification. Duos belonging to the historical band “The Beatles” are prayed by their fans as sanctimonious figures. Some of their songs such as “Yesterday,” “Love Me Do,” “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” etc. will always prevail the rock genre, throughout its lifetime.
Tennessee Musician Creates 27-String Guitar
August 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Keith Medley has been a master guitar builder for most of his adult life, and while he has created custom instruments for many famous musicians, his most impressive guitar is the one he made for himself.
If you’re missing a guitarist or two for your band, stop worrying, because the 27-string guitar Keith Medley invented has the power to make them obsolete. The only trick is learning how to play it. That’s in fact the biggest problem, White House-based Medley had to overcome, as well. “Building this guitar turned out to be the easy part,” Keith explains on his site. “The hard part has been learning to play it. Through two years of bittersweet struggle between myself and these 27 strings, I determined it would not defeat me but would play the music I heard in my heart.”
But why would anyone need a 27-string guitar, when most guitarist seem to do very well with just 12, or even 6? Keith says the music he hears in his head is more than can be played on six strings, so after many sketches and nights of contemplation, he came up with this unique 27-string instrument. He claims it’s like playing three instruments at the same time, but that apparently isn’t good enough since he’s now working on a guitar with 34 strings.
27 strings sounds impressive, 34, even more so, but believe it or not, Keith Medley hasn’t created the guitar with the most number of strings. In 1984, Linda Manzer and Pat Metheny designed and created a 42-string guitar called the Pikasso. You can see it in action in the last video, at the bottom.
Pat Metheny Pikasso 42-string guitar
Music Review: Peter Cincotti “East of Angel Town”
August 11, 2011 By
While visiting Edmonton this summer, my friend Don, played me a couple of tunes from “some Foster guy”. When David Foster produces an artist, it’s hard not to pay attention. As soon as I came home, I looked for the CD. The pop ghosts most obviously haunting the CD are those of a young Billy Joel and even younger Elton John. There’s even a little Dave Grusin from the “The Firm” soundtrack (one of the greatest of all times… in my opinion).
On East of Angel Town, Cincotti blazes through an assortment of moods and tempos. He isn’t scared of letting his listeners peak into his heart and see what he’s thinking and feeling, but that’s not to suggest that his music is confessional. Rather, Cincotti is a storyteller. “Angel Town” is an upbeat ode to the place that Cincotti loves, while “Lay Your Body Down Goodbye Philadelphia” is a quiet, serious and thoughtful meditation that’s worth a listen.
He artfully addresses the perverse glamorization of violence on “Make It Out Alive”, the numbing effects of over-privileged upbringings with “Broken Children”, the pressure to succeed on a grand scale on “Another Falling Star”.
“December Boys” is led by its piano melody and grand sonic gestures. Cincotti again ruminates on life as he sees it, knows it and lives it. He is a thinker who uses his lyrics as the vehicle for letting stories unfold, and he effectively sweeps the listener up into his world and his thoughts with this methodology. He’s not as vivid or as detailed as say, Billy Joel, but he gets the job done and still ensnares his audience, not so much by what he says, but how he says it. With Cincotti, it’s all about the delivery of the message; the content of the message is there, and it’s balanced out by the package in which he wraps it.