Don't Mock This Music

Let's end the week with another of the power pop CDs in my collection. Here are The Mockers who sound like a cross between Squeeze and Elvis Costello with The Turtles thrown into the mix. Like yesterday's group, this is foot-tapping music that is instantly likable. No deep understanding of musical styles is necessary to appreciate this fun guitar-based music. This is sixties music with a 21st century sound.

From yesterday's west-coast group, we travel across the country to the east coast where The Mockers are (were?) based. The selections featured here are from their 2001 album, Living In The Holland Tunnel. Their other albums are available from their web site or from Amazon here.

Next week is Elvis week on this blog. Can you believe it's been 30 years since he died?

1. The Mockers - Coronation (3.53 MB; 128kbps MP3)

2. The Mockers - Comes As No Surprise (3.55 MB; 128kbps)

Wonderminty Power Pop

I'm going to end this week by featuring some pure guitar power pop groups. A friend of mine (probably one of the few regular readers of this blog), sent me a whole series of CDs from different power pop groups that I had never heard of a couple of years ago. They all have exactly the clean, melodic pop with excellent harmonies that I seem to enjoy so much.

Today's featured group is an L.A. group called The Wondermints consisting of Darian Sahanaja, Nick Walusko, and Mike D'Amico. The sound is reminiscent of The Beatles, The Beach Boys and ELO. If you like that sound, you won't be disappointed. This is another of those albums that is consistently strong from beginning to end, making the choice of songs to feature here difficult. Their MySpace page is here. Some info can also be found on Wikipedia.

The songs featured here are from their fourth album (2002) called Mind If We Make Love To You. Absolutely classic power pop. The rest of their oustanding catalog can be found on Amazon here.

1. The Wondermints - Time Has You (2.83 MB; 128kbps MP3)

2. The Wondermints - Project 11 (3.38 MB; 128kbps MP3)

Duluth Music In A Blue Haze

I've got another local (Duluth, MN) artist for you today. Also a friend of mine and also someone I met through my kids.

Some months ago, there was some "culture day" or something like that at my kids' school and I was invited (along with numerous other parents) to make a brief presentation in my daughter's class on my Indian heritage. One of the other parents there brought a guitar and performed some great folk songs.

Later I found out that Greg Tiburzi has released a couple of CDs locally and I recently bought his latest CD release. The songs here are taken from his newest album, In a Blue Haze. These are delightfully simple folk songs that will have you hummin' and enjoying the lyrics.

As usual, I had a hard time selecting a couple of songs to feature. I really liked How You Gonna Get Up? and almost picked Blue Feelin' as my second song. At the last moment, I switched to the Musquetor Two-Step because I had to laugh out loud when listening to it. Anyone who has spent any time in Minnesota during the summer will be able to relate to this song. If you haven't spent any time enjoying the state bird of Minnesota during the summer (the "musquetor"), consider yourself lucky!

You can read a brief review of the CD here. The easiest way to buy a copy of the CD is by emailing Greg at gregtiburzi@yahoo.com. The CD costs a mere $12.

1. Greg Tiburzi - How You Gonna Get Up? (3.3 MB; 128kbps MP3)

2. Greg Tiburzi - Musquetor Two-Step (4.48 MB; 128kbps MP3)

Go Watch The California Guitar Trio

One of the most mind-blowing concerts I have ever attended was by the California Guitar Trio at NEARFest several years ago. Now, I am generally not much for instrumental concerts (I enjoy some classical music shows every now and then), but this group blew me away.

The California Guitar Trio (CGT for short) consist of three spectacularly proficient, classically trained guitarists who put on a show of dexterity and skill like you have never seen before. I was mesmerized by the guitar playing abilities and their incredibly coordinated playing. I can't even imagine how long they must have practiced together to be so in tune with each other (pun intended).

These two selections here just do not do justice to the experience of seeing this group live. Check out their site at http://www.cgtrio.com/ and pick up a couple of albums. However, more importantly, check out their tour schedule at http://cgtrio.proaudiowebsites.com/cgi/calendar.paw. I promise you that you will not be disappointed. To tide you over until they visit a city near you, here are a couple of selections from their Pathways album.

You can find their complete catalog on Amazon here. The Pathways CD is available here.

1. California Guitar Trio - Classical Gas (2.68 MB; 128kbps MP3)

2. California Guitar Trio - Misirlou (1.76 MB; 128kbps MP3)

A Fine Hero

An unexpected benefit of blogging is when it helps me discover new music that I otherwise would never have found. Recently, I was contacted by Dinesh Lalvani in Dubai about a song from his group The Fine. The music is a mixture of rock, electronica and strong vocals from fellow group member Claire Murphy.

They have a 4-song EP done that is available for purchase online. I understand they're working on a full album. You can find more information on Dinesh & Claire on their site at http://thefine.net/ which I urge you to visit. You can also head to their MySpace spot.

The first song featured here is Hero which couples a rock beat with some beautiful guitar work and Claire's clear vocals. It has a catchy melody and the combination of rock and acoustic ballad that I like so much (as you may have guessed from the selections of Triumph and Uriah Heep that were featured on this blog earlier).

If you like the song, why don't you add a comment to this post and I'm sure Dinesh and/or Claire will respond to any of your compliments or criticisms! Let them know if you want to hear more and maybe they'll send me another song for me to post here.

1. The Fine - Hero (4.69 MB; 128kbps MP3)

Listen to the pouring rain ...

Many years ago, I owned an album by Jose Feliciano. Although I think it was a greatest hits album, I recall the one song I instantly fell in love with was Rain. It has all the elements of a song I tend to like - simple lyrics sung in a heartfelt manner and a catchy melody.

It is easy to generate the visual imagery of a cool, cloudy, rainy evening with you all alone at home thinking of your love who is far away. The loneliness coupled with the mild depression brought on by the weather makes you realize how much you love the one you're missing and how much better it would be if she was there with you. The lyrics in this song just seem natural in that context. Even though the words seem to be sung to someone in the room with him, I see it more as the singer sitting alone and reassuring himself of his love for a woman. He almost seems to be trying to cheer himself up by singing about her.

Or, I could be reading way too much into all of this ...

Jose is a unique singer and a virtuoso guitarist. Some of his greatest hits were covers of other hit songs (probably his biggest hit was his exceptional and unique cover of Light My Fire). The second song I feature here is a cover of Lennon-McCartney's In My Life. Again, he puts his own stamp on it and doesn't try to recreate the original. According to his bio on wikipedia, he was born blind and taught himself to play the guitar by locking himself up in a room and practicing 14 hours a day. Now if that doesn't lead to passionate playing, I don't know what will.

As usual, if you're as enthralled by Jose Feliciano as I was when I first heard him, you can find most of his discography at Amazon here. As a start, I would recommend The Definite Best which seems to be a fairly comprehensive coverage of his hits at a reasonable price. You'll love the passion in Hitchcock Railway and enjoy his spin on the many covers on the disc.

As long as we're together, who cares about the weather ...

UPDATE (5/17/2010): MP3s deleted at the request of DMCA and Google. Don't bother trying to sample music here before buying.

1. Jose Feliciano - Rain (2.25 MB; 128 kbps MP3)
2. Jose Feliciano - In My Life (3.09 MB; 128 Kbps MP3)

Justin Roth - Singer, Songwriter

I teach at a University in the business school and am fortunate to have musicians as students every now and then. One of my former students is Justin Roth who I would describe as a troubadour (he may object, in which case I'd be happy to alter this description). While I enjoyed his first album, I think his 2003 album Shine is a particular joy to listen to. I think it is well recorded, well balanced, and I also think his voice has developed to have a better tonal quality than on his first album.

Although I missed him on his last visit to town, I did get the album and have listened to it many times since then. Both the songs I am featuring here are from Shine. However, the "fun" frolic titled "Dead Horse Trampoline" is not written by Justin (almost all the other songs on the album are written by him). I challenge you to listen to Dead Horse Trampoline without smiling.

You can find out more about Justin here. His touring schedule is here. Please buy his CDs here.

1. Justin Roth - Dead Horse Trampoline (2.85 MB; 128kbps MP3)
2. Justin Roth - Pull (3.21 MB; 128kbps MP3)