Infectious Kiwi funk "Lt Funk"

The vibey, retro funkalicious debut album, 'The Neon Groove' has finally been released from 'Lt Funk', a young 8-piece Auckland band. Take a bit of James Brown, sprinkle with some sassy horns, stir up with some South Auckland hot contemporary vocals plus the biggest shot of the most infectious guitar groove and you'll know what to expect.

The music is grounded and organic - 'Lt Funk' play all their stuff and use little studio gimmickry. From the opening Afro-Kiwi horn lines and tight vocal harmonies over a bed of chunky rhythm guitar you know this is going to be good. Have a listen to the Amazon preview of Contagious.The lyrics says, 'Your smile is so contagious' but I reckon this is a description of these addictive 9 tunes which certainly puts a smile on my face. This is party weekend, holiday, ride down the motorway on the way to Raglan music!

I rate Kandy as the most infectious pop-funk tune I've heard in a long time. I just wonder when TVNZ is going to come 'pick me up'? This flows into the laid back chill-out groove of 'Frequency' which probably is the most radio friendly although give me the first two tracks any day to party down.

"Feelings" has a well recorded punchy bass over a spacey organ and horn backdrop and of course the relentless beat which never fades as "Kick it" takes over with some hilarious (or sad?) lyrics talking of the old school RSA crowd. This segues into the final 'Neon Groove' and the beat goes on into the night...

Why does this click as an album? Simple - strong melodies, great strong vocals, a tight horn trio throughout, a rock solid rhythm section plus some of the funkiest tasteful guitaring and that neon groove!

A lively production and independent recording - well done guys on a great Kiwi debut that is indeed infectious.



Available for download on itunes and Amazon, the CD disc package can be ordered from their functional but funky cool website where you can checkout their videos and photos.

Happy birthday, Mr Keaggy

Happy Birthday, Mr Keaggy! Today I won a competition because of you. There was a question on New Zealand's Radio Rhema and  I guessed who the guitar legend was who was turning 59. Radio Rhema wished you Happy Birthday - we're a day ahead of you in the USA. (Pity they didn't send me "Mystery Highway").

Phil Keaggy's "Sergeant Pepper" album

Sixteen years have passed since I first published a version of this review. Listening to it again (for the umpteenth time) I am still convinced that "Crimson and Blue" is Keaggy's tour de force, his "Sergeant Pepper" album. If you are a musician and particularly a classic rock guitarist who has heard about this talented muso, this album is a great place to start.




Yes, there are other great instrumental albums of his, both electric and acoustic, that are worth listening to, but all fall short of this album. It's here you hear him interact with a great band, hear him sing covers, play long engaging solos and most of all, show unbridled joy. Phil plays with bravado. Much credit must go to producer, Lynn Nichols, Phil's friend and fellow musician of years past. From what I have read, Phil said that Lynn pushed him to the limit of his singing and playing ability. The production is superb, the recording bright and detailed and for 70 minutes plus, one is caught up in the joy and vitality of a band in full flight.

Indeed, this captures a band playing with the fervour of a garage jam or live concert. (How I wish I could have seen the tour supporting this!) In many ways this album, like one of the song titles, is a "Reunion of friends". Drummer John Sferra met Phil in the 8th grade. They played together in Glass Harp. Now Sferra holds all together magnificently. His drumming is probably more responsible for the cohesiveness and consistency of the 60s and 70s rock style than anything else. Wade Janes locks solid on bass while Phil Madeira, another friend of long standing, fills the soundstage with his Hammond B-3 organ. Against this bluesy backdrop we come to the maestro. Whether he is deftly playing Beatlesque licks that would make Harrison smile, or whether he is rocking the house down, this is exciting stuff!

From the opening strident rock anthem, when Phil shouts, "All creation shows the glory of the Lord", this album slowly builds with intensity. One hears many musical influences, with three Beatle-like tracks ("Everywhere I look", "Love divine" and "Reunion of friends") which are almost too close to Beatle originals for comfort, to tones that remind one of Clapton in his Cream days. Yet Phil adds his own flavour as again and again his honest lyrics reflect his heart. You cannot separate his musicianship from his faith. The final four tracks continue to lift to the crescendo that breaks loose in the penultimate track, "Doin' Nothin'". This eight minute rock boogie always satisfies my longing to hear Phil rip up the fretboard. Together with the Clapton inflected "Don't pass me by", these are about the heaviest you'll hear Keaggy play on a studio album of his. ("Doin' Nothin" is available as an MP3 single from Amazon - have a listen!) Doin' Nothin' (Album Version)


The final track is a masterful blues ballad as Jimi may have played. Phil focuses the album on the source of his joy and wholeness, his saviour. With this track there is an emotional depth that communicates lyrically and musically; the notes shimmer and echo the redemptive message. Listening again after all these years, this is still his "tour de force" album.  


PS: For a recent studio album, read one of the most enjoyable and exuberant PK reviews I've read, by blogger Kirk Jordan on "Mystery Highway", Phil and Randy Stonehill's collaborative effort.

Jeff Beck, guitar maestro - DVD review

Finally I have my own copy of this DVD and I was pleasantly surprised that this historic performance at the intimate Ronnie Scotts easily beats their amazing concert in Auckland. (I saw Jeff Beck (Link to excellent video on Drummerworld which shows an excerpt from this DVD), Vinnie Colaiuta , Tal Wilkenfeld and Dave Sancious rip through one of the most amazing one and half hours of spell-binding music when they played in Auckland at the end of their Australasian tour (3 February 2009). They pretty much covered all the songs on the Ronnie Scott set list although omitting `Space Boogie' and including I think a Tony Williams "Lifetime" track, that Tal seemed to lead.) Yet the DVD is even better because of three reasons:

1. The DVD allows you so close that you can see every action of Beck's playing (which even with binoculars I couldn't quite see at the concert)
2. There is greater variety in this concert in comparison with their tour as here there is the addition of soulful singing of guest artists. Joss Stone with 'People get ready', Imogen Heap with 'Blanket' and the driving 'Rollin'and Tumblin'' which provides opportunity for Becko to show his support and bluesy side.
3. This DVD records the historic magic of two blues songs sung and played by Eric Clapton and Becko...with Jimmy Page watching in the audience. Wow!

If you have only heard Jeff Beck then a live performance or this DVD, is a must. I had never seen Jeff Beck play before so was astounded to watch his unique style of brushing the strings with his thumb, caressing the whammy and combined with volume swells producing those tones that only he can do. As you'll see, he doesn't use a pick at all.

This is unique in that as far as I am aware this is the first full DVD concert of the drumming maestro, Vinnie Colaiuta (other than specialized Drumming festival DVDs). This intense rock fusion catalogue of Beck's is brilliant with its varied time signatures from reggae to poly-rhythm frenzy to showcase Vinnie's talents - but always within the context of the song and the music. Next to the diminutive figure of Jeff and Tal, Vinnie is a tall man and his enthusiasm, smiles and outright mastery capture and add to all the Richard Bailey, Simon Phillips and Terry Bozzio fills that we know from albums like `Blow by Blow', `Wired', 'Guitar shop' and the rest of the Beck catalogue. To hear Vinnie live is great - watching is an overwhelming marvel.

My only criticism of this DVD is that in the first few songs including 'Stratus', the camera work misses most of Vinnie's great fills. This is most frustrating and often the camera panned onto a watching Jeff or the face of a smiling Tal while missing sublime drumming. Fortunately this concert has a enough opportunity to see Vinnie at other times but generally the small venue meant that there are never great views of the drum kit. Fortunately this does not apply to the clear camera work on Jeff's fretboard.

Seeing the young Tal on bass melodically groove with these musos all at least 30 years older than her is a salute to the longevity of the music that we have come to know as rock fusion. There is a sense of togetherness and fun as they all interact and watch each other. Jason Rebello is literally out of the picture for the first quarter of the concert but later takes a more prominent role and takes a number of great solos.

As usual Eagle Vision have exemplary production qualities and the sound, 5.1 and DTS, is magnificent.

Jeff, doesn't speak much other than to thank guest artists and the audience at the end. He just plays his heart out. Hammering, tapping, wrenching and bending strings, Jeff shows how far he has explored where his contemporaries of that generation have never ventured. This best value DVD is an historic showcase that salutes the master guitarist in top form still playing as if there are no tomorrows. 

"Twelve Thousand Miles" Brilliant Pipes and Drums from New Zealand

Listening to this CD gave me chills that I remember experiencing when back in the early 70’s as a boy I first heard my father’s Invergordon Distillery’s Pipe Band record and again much later when listening to Simon Fraser University Pipe Band “Live at Carnegie Hall”. Those were benchmark recordings in a completely different league to your standard regimental pipes and drum material. Well so is this new album.

What sets “Twelve Thousand Miles” apart is that there is something so musical and fresh about this listening experience, yet in no way moving away from the long tradition of strathspeys, reels and jigs. So many aspects of this musical creation exude excellence. There are many striking and exciting new compositions, like the moving “Poyntzfield” with its majestic harmonies written by Pipe Major Stewart McKenzie to the experimental yet spiritual, ”Yesus” pipe arrangement by Timothy Cummings based on an Ethiopian folk hymn. Indeed Cummings, a Vermont based Celtic composer musician, seems to have his creative stamp all over this album with multiple arrangements being his.

Another aspect that significantly adds to a listener’s appreciation is the dark, evocative CD cover artwork and detailed booklet with notes and music explanations for each of the album’s 16 tracks. The booklet also tells the story of twelve thousand miles and the way the band plays tribute to the legacy of family and the Scottish heritage in New Zealand. Indeed the whole album resonates with this story.

Within the scope of contemporary pipes and drums this album has superb variety that includes the beautiful “Breton”, stunning solo piping from Easton, the small pipes of Omundsen and a haunting air by Roach, juxtaposed with the band in full flight on intense tracks like ”The Bandit” and “Full Spectrum”. Like their previous album, “The Calling” this also features the careful use of additional subtle instrumentation on three tracks that adds without distracting from the precise classical pipe tradition.

No doubt having Murray Blair again as producer has helped this rich, strong recording. Blair’s extensive experience recording bagpipes in Scotland, including Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe Band, shows abundantly on this CD. You turn up the volume high in your lounge and the balance of crisp snares, tenor drums and bass have the realistic tonal reverberance but never encroaching on the powerful sound force of the pipes. This is an exemplary pipe band studio recording and deserves wider recognition. In music circles, New Zealanders talk about Neil Finn, Hayley Westernra, John Psathas, Nathan Haines and Alan Broadbent. Manawatu Scottish Society Pipe Band deserve to be recognized for their unique contribution to the broad spectrum of music from these islands. They have recorded a stunning and most musical pipes and drums album that stands with the best in the world.