Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo So what are ya listening to tonight?

The new Muse ("Drones") came out earlier this week, so I drove to the record store just for that. While there, I saw something quite odd. It was a cd with an unmistakable Roger Dean cover and, in his script, it read "Steve How Anthology." At the bottom of the cover is printed, "A Solo Career Retrospective."

WTF?! Where was I during this "solo career" that was long enough for an anthology? It's 2 cd's, 33 tracks. The recording is fine. The tunes run the gamut from sounding like big chunks of Yes songs, all the way through his interpretation of "Just Like a Woman," WITH vocals (ehhhh, no, please stop) and ending up somewhere around Wyndham Hill. It IS a bit odd to hear that Steve Howe sound with brass instruments and sometimes a full orchestra, no vocals at all, so it's not uninteresting.

Maybe, because he has such a vast collection of plectrum-stringed instruments from so many centuries, he just wanted to have all of them get onto recordings, no matter the hum-drum-factor.

It's all very good, very adroit, adept, accomplished, etc., but nothing anywhere in there to make you sit up any straighter. When I saw it, it was $30. No way. There was one other copy, used, for $14.99. Now I feel only half bad about it. Steve, Yes were and are forever in my pantheon. I've forgiven you for Asia (OK, not really. I bought and then unloaded every one of them.), so let's not push it any further. K?

The new Muse is incredibly Musey. It's all the stuff you already liked, jacked up just a bit more; Led Zeppelin meets Queen meets Yes with bigger bottoms and waaay higher 16-track vocals. Lyrically, he can often ride a high horse through political mud, but I forgave Greg Lake, so I'll let this one go, too. At least this time he's keeping his most vase-shattering falsetto's riding on top of the guitar solos, and boy, that's a relief. Just because you can do some things others can't doesn't always mean you should. This band's musical intent has always been quite clear to me and they have never let me down. What's this, #7?

The Vaccines 3rd release, "English Graffiti," is also new. They were one of my few "high-hopes-after-debut-album" bands that really has come through and this is their most sophisticated yet. I may be one of the few people on earth who's mostly happy to hear the "garage" part of a band disappear under layers of experience and practice. This one is a bit Phoenix, a bit OkGo, but still their own.

I'll have to check out the Vaccines. Thx Bob.

I really like Drones, as well. In addition to the references you mentioned, I think it has a bit of "New Metallica" at their best (make of that what you will), as well. Particularly in Psycho.

I told Ken about this album but he completely ignored me. What a jerk.

Just bought it.

What a sycophant.

I dunno. I should probably be more careful about buying albums mentioned in this thread. Otherwise I might end up with another Nightwish album. Anything. Anything but that. Or Steely Dan.

This is a really good album.

Excellent!

Edit: I am sooooo sorry JP! Old age is getting to me. It was supposed to read, "Excellent, you judgmental bastard!

"Fireman" Rick from Buffalo is the big Nightwish (and ALL metal music) fan. THAT I can understand. About the Steely Dan thing; I would understand if you were Canadian, but you can not be an American who really appreciates great rock/pop and not think that Steely Dan's 6 album career was brilliant.

Fess it, Ken, you're really one of them. Peter told me about that 400+ page Rush scrapbook you've ben working on for 30-odd years. Ya, the one under the guestroom bed.

It's Charles ya got be wary of. (Damn, ended a sentence with a preposition! Damn!) He'll always give a thumbs up for anything "estrogenic."

Steely Dan falls into that category of artists whose names I consider misleading... The Grateful Dead is another one.