Jack White finally made his debut with his first solo album after the White Stripes break-up in 2011; ‘Blunderbuss,’ the new White’s album, is now available for purchasing. The record will serve music lovers to enjoy almost 45 minutes of good Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Surely quite a surprise for those who expected White to experiment something new in the album, as he instead retraces the old routes of rock, enhancing it with blues, soul and sometimes a psychedelic attitude. He does it with such an extreme grace and sense of completeness, that it seems impossible not to be captured by the record as if it featured, instead, something never experienced.

The roots of Rock ‘n’ Roll seem to comfortably lie together with the soul and blues sounds that accompany the entire work, where the piano seems to have more importance than the guitar itself. In this mixture of different sonorities nothing goes lost, and everything seems to fit properly to create a reliable and comfortable sound.

In the album it is possible to retrieve many of the influences that made Rock ‘n’ Roll what it is now; it is possible to hear The Doors, as well as the AC/DC and Dylan. None of the tracks though come as a repetitive form of the previous work done by those or other artists, a gentle reinvention of it instead.

The whole record stays faithful to the basic attitude with which White decided to approach the sound, although the songs express a variety of moments of that attitude. The album opens with ‘Missing Pieces’ which seems to be a declaration of what the album will be. ‘Sixteen Saltines,’ the second single released prior to the album, then goes on reminding everybody where White comes from, musically speaking, and ‘Love Interruption’ serves the exact contrary, almost separating the artist from his musical past.

Some of the songs, such as ‘Trash Tongue Talker’ and ‘Hip (Eponymous) Poor Boy,’ are extremely catchy, the latter almost reminding of  a kids rhyme, resulting in a fresh sound. ‘Trash Tongue Talker’ comes to the listener in a very straightforward manner, raw and strong, almost setting a “saloon” state of mind.

There is also a well done cover of ‘I’m Shakin,’ which does Little Willie John justice. The ending of the album is intriguing, with the last song, ‘Take Me with You When You Go,’ remaining faithful to the rest of the record until towards the end, when vibrant, and almost hysterical, vocals and sounds regenerate the listener’s interest in the album. ‘Blunderbuss,’ the song that gives the title to the album, is probably the delicate pearl of the record.

Concerning the lyrics, the first single ‘Love Interruption,’ well expresses the dark side that White seems to have chosen for many songs of his first solo album. In several tracks it is possible to retrieve, indeed, that powerful, angry, hurt, resentful as well as resigned feeling expressed in the first single, released at the end of January this year.

Being the debut album of White as a solo musician, the record succeeds to trace that line wanted by the artist to divide the image of Jack White from the White Stripes, and it does this in a pleasant and elegant way, catching the listener’s mind with its rhythm and with its ‘Rock ‘n’ Blues’ approach.

Image Courtesy of   http://jackwhiteiii.com

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Michael Davis, bassist for the proto-punk band MC5 died on Friday 17, at the age of 68. Davis died of liver failure; he was hospitalized at the Enloe Medical Center in Chico, CA, about one month ago for a liver disease. Davis leaves his wife, Angela Davis, three sons and a daughter.

Michael Davis joined the revolutionary band MC5 in 1964, replacing the band’s original bass player, Pat Burrows. In order to join the band, Davis dropped out of Wayne State University, where he had been attending a program in Fine Arts. He played in all the three studio albums MC5 recorded, including their debut record, ‘Kick Out The Jams’, released by Elektra Records in 1969.

MC5 band is categorized as one of the pioneers of the punk movement in the USA. Their lyrics were characterized by strong political and anti-racist identification, while their musical style swept from garage rock to hard rock. Davis left the band in 1972, and then reunited with the surviving members in 2003 for live performances.

After MC5 split up in 1972, Davis co-founded the art rock band Destroy All Monsters, together with his friend Ron Asheton of The Stooges. Although they never recorded a proper studio album, Destroy All Monsters became, through live performances, an influential band in the Detroit area. Davis remained with the band for seven years.

Michael Davis also carried on his painting work; he restarted studying art at several institutes, and collaborated with a variety of artists along the years. He also worked as a music producer.

After a dangerous motorcycle accident in May 2006, where he injured his back, Michael Davis and his wife Angela started the non-profit Music Is Revolution Foundation. The aim of the foundation is to support music education in public schools and raise awareness about the importance music education covers for cognitive abilities, understanding and cultural knowledge.

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Rumors about a possible Rolling Stones world tour and maybe even a new album in 2012–the year that marks the 50th anniversary of the English rock ’n’ roll band’s career–have been circulating in the internet for the entire past year.

At first the tour was billed as the farewell of the historical rock band to the music scene: after fifty years of greatness everybody deserves some rest. However, this is not the idea that the Rolling Stones have in mind. Ronnie Wood, one of the band guitarists, declared: “We have all agreed this won’t be the last time.

Everyone’s rocking. We’ll rock ’till we drop!” This declaration not only clears the mind of those who were worried about the band leaving the scene, but it confirms that the talks about the tour are realistic. What is certain is that the band is discussing it.

Keith Richards, for example, expressed his wish to tour with the old band mates in more than one interview. He wants it to be a different tour, to innovate the idea behind their last live performances accompanying it by a coming back to their blues roots. “It doesn’t have to be the whole spectacle bullshit again, but we’ve got to find our own way through this” said Richards to the almost homonymous “Rolling Stone” magazine.

Sir Mick Jagger on the other hand has addressed the issue in contradictory ways. In September he declared to “USA Today” that a tour was “not on the table”, and was more concentrated on exploring his “SuperHeavy” project; he then told “Rolling Stone” in late November about the possibility of the Stones tour “It is quite amazing when you think about it, anything’s possible.”

What is due to be solved, though, is the relationship between Richards and Jagger. In his autobiography, Richards addresses his “frenemy” Jagger in an unkind way; it seems that Sir Mick did not take this well, and band mates are trying to guide them through a reconciliation.

In December a meeting in London took place: the band members jammed during a three day session. Nothing was recorded, but all the members participated. Jagger joined only the last day of the sessions. There is nothing official about what came out of the meeting between the guitarist and the frontman, but rumors say that they got along pretty well, giving hopes to those who are waiting for this year’s event to take place.

Additionally, in late December, a tour date was announced by “Event & Ticket Shop Ltd.” to take place at the “Ernst Happel Stadion” in Vienna (Austria), giving no precise indication about the time but only a general “Summer 2012.” That was enough, though, to create excitement among the world fans and regenerate their hopes.

Hence, even if there is nothing official confirming the world tour by the Rolling Stones in 2012, the signs of one happening seem to be promising. In the meanwhile fans can enjoy themselves with the new material that the band recently made available at www.stonesarchive.com, opening the doors to its archive, with film, memorabilia and music, including previously unheard tracks.

Fans also have the opportunity to buy personalized merchandise, tour gear and much more in the online shop. It seems to be a lot of new stuff to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the band, and fans are hopefully waiting for the tour to happen.

Image Courtesy of  https://www.facebook.com/therollingstones

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The year that marked the twentieth anniversary of one of the most meaningful progressions in rock history and of some of the most influential masterpieces like Nirvana’s “Nevermind”, “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, “Achtung Baby” by U2, just ended. Twenty years after 1991, what is the state of rock music?

2011 was in itself a good year for rock: “Wasting Light” by Foo Fighters, “Endgame” by Rise Against, and “I’m With You” by Red Hot Chili Peppers are just few of the good releases that signified the past year and the presence of the beautiful diversity of rock. However, to make a comparison between the state of rock in the contemporary music scene and the one of 1991, seems unfair.

Twenty years ago, the rise of grunge not only brought to life a new musical style, expressing alternative sonorities and meaningful messages, it also changed the roles in the game of the music industry, making the counterculture mainstream. It is undeniable that almost all rock bands have been influenced ever since by what happened twenty years ago, so in some ways this revolution is still present.

“Never lose faith in real rock ‘n’ roll music … Never lose faith in that. You might have to look a little harder, but it is always going to be there” said Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters frontman and ex Nirvana drummer, when accepting the MTV Video Music Award for Best Rock Video for Foo Fighters’ “Walk.”

What surprises most people nowadays is exactly what Dave Grohl said: you have to look harder to find ‘real’ rock. After rising to power twenty years ago, the contemporary music industry seems to be ruled by a kind of pop music that does not really care about content or sonorities, but rather gossip, fashion and superficiality instead.

Many newer singers and bands seem to care more about impressing instead of touching people, even to the extend of not doing it through music. Lady Gaga, with her multiple costumes and creation of an alter ego, seems to be more concerned with what to wear rather than what to play; child stars like Justin Bieber, who relies on his looks rather than his voice, make provocative declarations like “I feel like the Kurt Cobain of my generation,” in order to make people talk about him, but the mere statement shows that he has no idea who Kurt Cobain was as a musician.

Rihanna has a sexy pose for every word in her songs but who can be sure it’s her real voice in the haze of voice effects and computerized distortions. Furthermore, a new type of music worker is forged through television today. Reality shows will throw any wannabe with any camera appeal to the audience, and the audience seems to blindly enjoy it.

Music charts of 2011 were often dominated by well-advertised groups created by TV standards. For example, since 2005, the UK Chart’s Christmas No. 1 has always been a song from the winner of some reality show, with the exception of 2009 when Rage Against The Machine won after a Facebook campaign against reality shows.

These few examples merit the proposition that what is really missing in the music industry is real music, real artists. Some of the most successful artists are so focused on building their imaginary characters that they forget to actually make music, relying on computerization rather than authenticity. The music industry supports this and the audience buys it all. Meanwhile, great rock bands who carry on their projects and make good music are almost lost in the scene.

“Music the great communicator,” sing Red Hot Chili Peppers in their song “Can’t Stop,” but thinking about the message that current mainstream music is communicating, nothing good comes to mind. In this scenario, there is no sign of a revolutionary and innovative rock movement about to explode. It is true that twenty years ago, nobody saw grunge coming.

On the other hand, the situation is different now. Music gets everywhere through the internet, everybody has the chance to be known somehow, and it should have gotten easier to distribute something with as much potential as grunge had in 1991 and punk in 1976.

“It’s sad to think what the state of rock ‘n’ roll will be in 20 years from now. It just seems when rock ‘n’ roll is dead the whole world is going to explode” said Kurt Cobain in an interview a few months before his death on 1994. Rock is not dead, at least not yet, but Cobain prophesied correctly: it is quite sad to think what Rock has come to today.

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