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November 12, 2009
Steven Tyler: I’m Not Leaving Aerosmith
After weeks of speculation about the future of Aerosmith, Steven Tyler took to the stage with the the Joe Perry Project on Tuesday night at New York City’s Fillmore. As Perry was wrapping up his set with his band, Tyler surprised the crowd by appearing for a rendition of Aerosmith favorite “Walk This Way.”
Before cutting lose with the legendary hit, Tyler took a few seconds to address the audience and announce that he is not planning to leave Aerosmith. “New York I want you to know I am not leaving Aerosmith,” Tyler proclaimed. He then went on to refer to Joe Perry as “a man of many colors,” and to himself as a “rainbow.” I suppose it’s left to fans to figure out the meaning behind those words.
Perhaps Tyler is simply planning on some side projects, just as Joe Perry has been doing with his Joe Perry Project. Whatever his future plans are, the recent proliferation of rumors about his departure from Aerosmith seems to have prompted him to reassure fans that he plans to continue as a member of the group.
What actually went on behind the scenes between Tyler and the rest of the group is not known, but it apparently all came to a head following Tyler’s infamous fall from the stage during Aerosmith’s tour with ZZ Top this past summer. Speculation surfaced questioning Tyler’s sobriety, and was further fueled by a fan photograph of him inside a Massachusetts liquor store.
With the tour scrubbed due to Tyler’s injuries, other members – particularly Perry – spoke publicly about their disappointment over the cancellation of the tour, and hinted at disappointment with Tyler himself. Recent comments attributed to Tyler about his next project being all about “Brand Tyler” made it appear that he was further distancing himself from his Aerosmith band mates.
As of Tuesday night, all appears to be well in the world of Aerosmith again. Perhaps this will allow them to resume work on the new album that was planned for release next year, and who knows? Maybe another tour will follow and help patch things up a bit with disappointed fans.
October 19, 2009
Jethro Tull Live At Madison Square Garden 1978
Tomorrow marks the release of the new Jethro Tull live CD/DVD set. From their Heavy Horses tour, the video and audio was recorded during a performance at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden and beamed around the world live via satellite. Something of an event in the days before satellite communications became so commonplace. In fact, the show had to be broken up into three segments due to the lack of broadcast time that was available on the satellite at the time, with the middle portion being shown on television.
The set consists of a single DVD and a single CD. The DVD includes just the audio for the first segment of the show which is comprised of three songs.
The middle portion of the show was televised and the resulting 50 or so minutes of video footage is included on the DVD. Eight songs are performed for the middle segment including hits like “Aqualung” and “Thick As A Brick.” Fans should not expect to see video footage presented in wide-screen “movie” format since the show was being shot for broadcast on television, and as we all know, there certainly was no HD in 1978.
The final segment on the DVD features the audio from three more songs, including “Cross Eyed Mary” and an encore of “Locomotive Breath.”
I had not seen Jethro Tull perform live before this, but I can say without any hesitation that they were certainly not a boring group to watch. Ian Anderson’s energy is extraordinary, and I’m not quite sure the man stood still for a single second during the entire performance. There is little doubt that both Anderson and the rest of the group poured every ounce of energy and ability at their disposal into that show.
Although the group took liberties with the arrangements of some well-known material, as one might expect during a live show, none of the changes diminished the quality of the performance for me. As is typically the case, the frontman got the lion’s share of the face time, and although some of us might have appreciated a little bit more attention directed at some of the other musicians, that appears to be the nature of show business and is not unique to this recording.
As anyone who has read my reviews of live albums in the past will know, my main sticking point is always the sound. I freely admit I am a bit of an audio snob, and I am often disappointed with live albums due to the mix, the acoustics, the microphone placement or any number of other circumstances I might be find disagreeable.
I’m happy to report that the sound quality of this live set is quite good. Especially when one considers that it was recorded 31 years ago! Kudos to Robin Black and Peter Mew, two gentlemen who were responsible for the mixing of the original recording and the newer 5.1 Dolby and stereo mixes respectively. Those are the names that most fans probably never notice among all the others in the liner notes, but they contribute enormously to the quality of the finished product. It really is a superb live recording.
Although I’ve been a fan of Jethro Tull since the 1970’s, I’m not sure I ever listened as carefully to their arrangements as I might have before receiving this new set. Certain passages are almost fusion-like to my ears, and reveal an impressive quantity of talent on that stage that I may have never fully appreciated before.
The CD that accompanies the DVD contains all the audio material from the DVD with the exception of the encore performance of “Locomotive Breath” and a few short non-musical segments like band introductions and such.
Although it is probably obvious by now, I would not hesitate to recommend this set to any Jethro Tull fan. As rare as it may seem coming from me, the quality of this recording elevates its status to one that is worthy of listening to for the audio alone.
Ian Anderson is currently on tour here in the U.S. Having finished up for the remainder of this month with a show yesterday in Connecticut, he will next appear in Phoenix at the Dodge Theatre on November 3rd.
Thanks to the folks at EMI for the review copy of this recording. At the same time, I should also mention that I was not compensated in any way for this review beyond the review copy of the set that I received.
June 30, 2008
Bon Jovi Plans For Free Central Park Concert
As part of the celebration that will mark Major League Baseball’s All Star game, Bon Jovi will be offering their fans a rare opportunity to attend a free concert.
The show is scheduled to take place in Central Park on July 12, three days prior to the All Star game which will take place at New York City’s famed Yankee Stadium on July 15. With a new Yankee Stadium scheduled to open next year, this will be last season for the original 86-year-old ball park.
Bon Jovi will wrap up its current tour a couple of days later when they perform at Madison Square Garden on July 14 and 15.
A press conference is scheduled at 4:00 p.m. at City Hall where more details will be revealed, including information regarding tickets. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg will be present for the press conference. Perhaps the boys from the band will make an appearance at the press conference as well, although I have not seen any official word that they will be showing up.
