ETTORE SALATI

This month's Artist in Spotlight is Ettore Salati from Italy. Ettore is a sought after session guitarist by many prog musicians not just in Italy but all around the world. He started playing piano at a very young age (mostly classical music) but when he became a teenager and discovered the world of Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Genesis and 70's rock in general, he was immediately fascinated by guitar... more

KAT EPPLE (Emerald Web)

KAT EPPLE, flautist and composer, is our interview guest this month. She has won 8 Emmy awards, was nominated for a Grammy and she has released 18 albums internationally. Most of you know her as the other half of the legendary ambient/new age duo EMERALD WEB. She has a very large collection (over 200) of flutes that she gathered from all around the world during her travels. Kat composes original New Age/Jazz/World/orchestral music and has produced film scores and television soundtracks for National Geographic, Nova, CNN, Carl Sagan, Another World, The Travel Channel, Turner Broadcasting System, History Channel, HGN, The Guiding Light, PBS, and NASA among others, and was Music Director for the feature-length film, Captiva Island. She also owns a record company and works on both sides of the music industry as a musician and as a business woman... more

New Grass Revival / On The Boulevard

New Grass Revival are one of the pioneers of progressive bluegrass. Formed in 1971 by Sam Bush (mandolin/vocals), Curtis Burch (guitar), Ebo Walker (bass) and Courtney Johnson (banjo), they immediately got the attention from the industry both in a good and bad way. First of all, they were often told that their music was not bluegrass, and they knew it wasn’t “bluegrass” in its traditional sense, and it wasn’t what they were trying to achieve anyways. They were blending rock, soul and blues rhythms with the traditional bluegrass music. They were not wearing suites, but instead they had a more casual style along with long hair... more

WISHBONE ASH / THE POWER OF ETERNITY

"The Power Of Eternity", released only a few weeks ago (by Talking Elephant in the UK and Europe, Sanctuary Records in the US), is Wishbone Ash’s most recent album with the current line up. Joe Crabtree is their new drummer, Muddy Manninen is the other half of the lead guitars, Bob Skeat is the bassist, and Andy Powell, the one and only remaining original member over the past 38 years, with his unmistakable guitar sound and vocals is THEE man.

For those of you who are not very familiar with the changes the band went through over the years, I would recommend you visit their official website (www.wishboneash.com) and check their family tree. Bob Skeat joined the band in the late 90’s. Wishbone Ash fans are well aware that the band’s bass lines for the most part are anything but ordinary, and by this I mean besides the unique twin lead guitar sound, bass often appears to be the second lead element that plays harmonies. Bob has a funk rock style which gives the Ash tunes a dynamic sound. Muddy Manninen, is a blues/rock guitarist. He joined the band in 2004. On stage and in the studio, he and Andy create a good chemistry. He brings a more bluesy sound to the band, especially when performing live. This creates a nostalgic touch. And with this I certainly do not compare him to Ted Turner since they are very different. It is mostly the sound of his guitar that is nostalgic. (You will know what I mean when you read the part about the song "Northern Lights").

The newest member of the band, Joe Crabtree is a multi instrumentalist on top of being a physicist. He plays guitar and bass as well as drums; teaches at the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford, U.K. and has experience in a lot of different genres from jazz to progressive rock.

The Power Of Eternity will first catch your attention with its album cover. I can give you some hints here, but Andy Powell tells it all on the lyrics sheet: the “Eco Man” brings the message of love to the planet, the orange background symbolizes the global warming and the wind mills symbolize the crucifixion on Calvary Hill. But of course there is much more to it between the lines.

There are 10 brand new songs on this CD. The first song is written by Ian Harris and Muddy Manninen. The name Ian Harris is no stranger to the fans as he did a few of the band’s album artwork one being the “Twin Barrels Burning”. The painting of the Eternity’s cover is made by him too. On the first song titled “The Power”, Muddy seamlessly blends blues and rock.

"Driving a Wedge" is along the lines of blues/rock again. The guitar and vocal lines are the same which is something that should only be tried by experienced musicians since there is a fine line between sounding amateur and professional (and do I need to mention that Wishbone is not in the first category?). When the bass joins the guitar with harmonies on the second part, another signature mark of the band is making "Driving a Wedge" a quality song to listen to.

“In Crisis” is the third song on the CD written by both Muddy and Andy. This song talks about individual challenges we face everyday in order to survive, and how indifferent every day life makes people toward each other and themselves to the point where they need to see a flashing sign on top of a bridge that says they can call a number to get “help to ease their troubled mind”. It is one of those driving songs, but if you are feeling emotionally unstable I would not recommend you listen to this song and drive through a bridge, you just never know whether you will see a sign or not, so play it safe.

"Dancing with The Shadows" will show you Muddy’s seamless fusion of different genres. This is both a blues and a waltz tune which, if you try to visualize the scene described in the lyrics, will feel a little creepy. Like dancing with weird creatures in the dark if you know what I mean....

"Happiness" happens to be one of the least favorite songs of mine on the CD. But I do like the bass lines which again appear to be more than a rhythm section element. At the end of the song vocals and instruments slowly fade out leaving the space to the acoustic guitar, and that also fades out shortly after in a folk-like athmosphere.

The second “driving” song on the album is "Northern Lights", an instrumental tune written again by Muddy on which Miri Miettinen plays percussions. Muddy’s guitar sounds a lot like Peter Green’s, just like on “The Man Of The World” (the instrumental version) I should say: soft, 60’s style blues, a sad sound. You don’t hear very many people play like this anymore.

The second half of the album which starts with the "Northern Lights", is more down tempo, and this next song is one of those. "Your Indulgence" is written by Andy Powell. We hear organs on this one: Hammond B3. This song is a ballad on which ex Ash drummer Ray Weston plays drums.

But don’t get too relaxed, because this next guitar lick will make you jump on your seat and go “whoa”. Perfectly harmonizing twin lead guitars with a lick like this as if it is coming from the 70’s Wishbone Ash albums will definitely catch your attention. The song is called "Growing Up". I think the best part of the lyrics is “I sometimes feel growing up means losing friends”. When you go back to the familiar places, see the familiar faces, and remember the memories shared years ago, you sadly find out the magic is not there anymore.

The down tempo comes back with "Disappearing" which is written by Andy’s son Aynsley Powell (who is a member of the band Tiger City). Andy later wrote the lyrics to it. Aynsley plays rhythm guitar on the song. Disappearing has a jazzy feel with soft slow rhythm, but when you read the lyrics, they are not as peaceful. In fact this song and “In Crisis” are pretty bizarre in this sense when you look at their lyrics and their melodies separately / or together. “Disappearing” gives you the feeling of a politely said “excuse me while you’re doing whatever you're doing, but I’m outta here, see ya later”, while “In Crisis” puts you in a spinning cycle (like the washer’s) where you move with the rest of the load.

"Hope Springs Eternal" is the last song on the CD. Bob’s bass has a sharp funk/rock sound. A good one to end the album with a title like this. After all, we all need to keep our hopes high.

In a time when most bands from the 70's still rely on their Best Of's, The Very Best Of's and The Very Very Best Of's over and over again, seeing Wishbone Ash still active in the business, create new songs and reach their fans all over the world every year is something we all need to appreciate. Powell's life long dedication to his band and music keeps this flame burning. The Power Of Eternity is an album created by a band that has great chemistry. Their energy will surely reach the hardcore fans as well as the new listeners.

Hande BURDG