FRANK TURNER-TAPE DECK HEART-“RIGHTEOUS PASSION AND SUBSTANCE” CD REVIEW JOHN EMMS

Frank Turner’s new cd Tape Deck Heart is the rare pop album that puts your faith back into music. it’s not perfect and of course that is the point.

Putting it simply Tape Deck Heart has killer songs. Combining an REM jangle wall of sound and passionate vocal Turner rips into Losing Days, gets Strummer-esque on Plain Sailing Weather while Tell Tale Signs goes way more than skin deep.

Elsewhere, the opening track Recovery piles up the words almost to the point of Turner running out of breath. Coupled with the gorgeous earthy The Way I tend To Be, they are both sublime songs

At 16 songs the album is a bit too long. It could also be said this is Turner’s most American sounding roots album and that is a good thing.

This album is at least four singles deep but more importantly Turner has upped the ante.

This release will be available April 23 2013

JOHN EMMS is a veteran music journalist, radio host http://emms.podbean.com/ and songwriter/vocalist with Canada’s blues/roots band THE SHAFTMEN www.theshaftmen.com

The spiritual journey of Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters-JUST FOR TODAY..CD REVIEW

It could be said that if John Lee Hooker was The Healer, then Ronnie Earl and his great band The Broadcasters are spiritual messengers.

And the message they deliver on Just For Today the group’s latest album is a throwback to the days when B.B. King’s Live At The Regal or John Coltrane’s Live At Birdland ruled your record collection.

What those albums did was showcase the players, the intimate venue and mood.

The ambience Earl and the Broadcasters dish out recorded live at three venues on this album has that same kind of vibe. In one word Special.

The audience is really listening and the band delivers.

Blues for Celia has Earl’s reverb spiked Fender Stratocaster gently pulling and pushing the song so that the audience is almost eavesdropping as the Broadcasters move in, while Miracle’s almost Neil Young’s Like A Hurricane’s progression has drummer Lorne Entress  pushing the groove to Earl and the band.

If the band has a secret weapon then keyboard player Dave Limina qualifies throughout the album. His distorted organ solo on John Coltrane’s Equinox just smokes, while his piano work on his own Vernice’s Boogie grabs the groove and does not let go.

Entress and bassist Jim Mouradian play with class and their support on the gentle Pastorale and the track Blues for Hubert Sumlin run the gamut of cool dynamics.

Throughout this album Ronnie Earl’s exquisite guitar tone and chops gives testament to the fact what you play comes from your heart and flows out through your fingers and above all your soul.

Every once in a while they make recordings like this. And this is one of those times.

JOHN EMMS is a veteran music journalist, radio host and songwriter/musician with
Canadian Blues Rockers THE SHAFTMEN who’s third all original blues/soul recording is almost ready to go. www.theshaftmen.com