Article in The Boston Globe (30th January) about Boston outfit the Rudds, ahead of gig at Lizard Lounge 31 January, and about singer John Powhida's vocal heroes - Daryl Hall, Todd Rundgren, and Cheap Trick's Robin Zander - who have influenced him since his teenage years growing up in Albany, N.Y. "That's the sound to me," Powhida says. "I liked the freeness and wildness that Daryl Hall and Todd Rundgren had. They'd slip into falsetto, take chances, and every time they sang a song it seemed like they were playing with their voices. That's an element of music I like a lot, that experimentation."
Whilst the Decemberists have been around for a number of years, and a friend of mine is a big fan, I have to confess - a few tunes aside - they have never really made much of a splash with me. With their fifth album - 'The Hazards of Love' - a 17-track concept album that sort of tells a story about a fair maiden ravished by a shape-shifting demon (no, really) - however, I am suddenly find myself surprisingly won over. On some levels - like most concept albums - it is utter tosh, but with its repeating musical motifs and reprises, making you quickly think that actually there are only about five actual songs on the album - a clever trick. Like with all good concept albums this makes listening on shuffle not the ideal way to digest this album - especially as their are short 'interlude' pieces joining all the songs too. Added to all this the fact that the band seem to have a love for early 70's British folk/prog/heavy metal and this walks right up my street - and will ...
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