SPARKS

[Buckeye Randy]

Artist: Queen
Title: Queen 1 (Collector’s Edition)
Release: Rocktober 25. 2024

The promo by Queen’s website…

Release date: 25 October, 2024
Queen’s groundbreaking 1973 debut album, Queen, remixed, remastered and expanded in a 6CD+1LP box set Queen I Collector’s Edition.
“Queen I is the debut album we always dreamed of bringing to you.”
Brian May and Roger Taylor, 2024
Over half a century since its release and a vital chapter in the band’s story, Queen’s self-titled 1973 debut album has been remixed and restored by Justin Shirley-Smith, Joshua J Macrae and Kris Fredriksson to sound the way the band always wanted it to. A new tracklisting, alternative takes, demos and live tracks have now been added to create the most complete version of this pivotal work. This is the very first time that a Queen album has ever received a new stereo mix.
The 6CD + 1 LP Queen I box set contains 63 tracks with 43 brand new mixes, comprising the original album with its intended running order restored, intimate fly-on-the-wall audio of Queen in the studio, demos, rare live tracks, and previously unheard recordings from Queen’s first ever live performance in London, August 1970. Absent from the 1973 release, the song “Mad the Swine” has been reinstated to its original place in the running order. A 108-page book containing handwritten lyrics and memorabilia accompanies the release.
Presented in a stunning two-piece box with fold-out poster and four photo prints.
CD1: Queen I (2024 Mix)
1. Keep Yourself Alive
2. Doing All Right
3. Great King Rat
4. Mad The Swine
5. My Fairy King
6. Liar
7. The Night Comes Down
8. Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll
9. Son And Daughter
10. Jesus
11. Seven Seas Of Rhye...
CD2: De Lane Lea Demos - 2024 Mix
1. Keep Yourself Alive
2. The Night Comes Down
3. Great King Rat
4. Jesus
5. Liar
CD3: Queen I Sessions
1. Keep Yourself Alive (Trident Take 13 - Unused Master)
2. Doing All Right (Trident Take 1 - with Guide Vocal)
3. Great King Rat (De Lane Lea Take 1 - with Guide Vocal)
4. Mad The Swine (Trident Take 3 - with Guide Vocal)
5. My Fairy King (Trident Backing Track In Development)
6. Liar (Trident Take 1 – Unused Master)
7. The Night Comes Down (De Lane Lea Takes 1 & 2 - with Guide Vocal)
8. Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll (Trident Takes 8 & 9)
9. Son And Daughter (Trident Takes 1 & 2 - with Guide Vocal)
10. Jesus (De Lane Lea Take 2 - with Guide Vocal)
11. Seven Seas Of Rhye… (Trident Take 3)
12. See What A Fool I've Been (De Lane Lea Test Session)
CD4: Queen I Backing Tracks
1. Keep Yourself Alive
2. Doing All Right
3. Great King Rat
4. Mad The Swine
5. My Fairy King
6. Liar
7. The Night Comes Down
8. Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll
9. Son And Daughter
10. Jesus
11. Seven Seas Of Rhye…
CD5: Queen I At The BBC
1. My Fairy King (BBC Session 1, February 1973)
2. Keep Yourself Alive (BBC Session 1, February 1973)
3. Doing All Right (BBC Session 1, February 1973)
4. Liar (BBC Session 1, February 1973)
5. Keep Yourself Alive (BBC Session 2, July 1973)
6. Liar (BBC Session 2, July 1973)
7. Son And Daughter (BBC Session 2, July 1973)
8. Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll (BBC Session 3, December 1973)
9. Great King Rat (BBC Session 3, December 1973
10. Son And Daughter (BBC Session 3, December 1973
11. Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll (BBC Session 4, April 1974
CD6: Queen I Live
1. Son And Daughter (Live at the Rainbow - March 1974)
2. Guitar Solo (Live at the Rainbow - March 1974)
3. Son And Daughter (Reprise) (Live at the Rainbow - March 1974)
4. Great King Rat (Live at the Rainbow - March 1974)
5. Keep Yourself Alive (Live at the Rainbow - March 1974
6. Drum Solo (Live at the Rainbow - March 1974)
7. Keep Yourself Alive (Reprise) (Live at the Rainbow - March 1974)
8. Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll (Live at the Rainbow - March 1974)
9. Liar (Live at the Rainbow - March 1974)
10. Hangman (Live in San Diego - March 1976)
11. Doing All Right (Live in San Diego - March 1976)
12. Jesus (Live at Imperial College - August 1970)
13. I’m A Man (Live at Imperial College - August 1970)
LP: Queen I Live – 2024 Mix
Side 1:
1. Keep Yourself Alive
2. Doing All Right
3. Great King Rat
4. Mad The Swine
5. My Fairy King
Side 2:
1. Liar
2. The Night Comes Down
3. Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll
4. Son And Daughter
5. Jesus
6. Seven Seas Of Rhye…


My opinion…I hate revisionist history! I had no problem with the sound on the EMI release or the Elektra release with more compression. I do not like including extra tracks on a reissue. That said, it sounds great.
_________________
Billy, Don't Be A Porter

[Crabby]

Last night (8th November) at a very studenty enclave in Belfast, a wonderful concert courtesy of They Might be Giants..... An absolute blast, and this old girl managed 2 and a half hours of standing, bouncing about and generally behaving like a teenager simply because the music was so good (cheers to the horn section) the songs were wonderful and the rapport with the audience was very funny and appeared to be genuinely sincere..... Superb night!

[Buckeye Randy]

What: Ruf Records 30 Years Anniversary Tour
When: November 8, 2024
Where: Robins Theatre (Warren, OH)

Occasionally, I google up various artists to see if there is any info on upcoming releases or upcoming tours. While doing so a couple months ago I did a search on Samantha Fish. I stumbled across an upcoming tour titled, “Ruf Records 30 Years Anniversary Tour “. After reading the promo I learned it’s a tour featuring performances by artists that have been on Ruf Records. The tour includes Ghalia Volt, Canned Heat w/Bernard Allison and Samantha Fish w/Mitch Ryder.

The fact I did a search for on Samantha Fish is a little odd since I don’t own anything and I’ve never seen her perform. My interest is based mostly on the song “Deathwish” w/Jesse Dayton and the fact her most recent tour that stopped by a nearby small venue sold out almost immediately. As I've told Mrs. Buckeye, my interest has nothing to do with photos I've seen of Samantha in leather outfits that would make Suzi Quatro envious.

This concert looks really interesting, so I check on ticket availability. Winner, winner, chicken dinner! Tix have only been on sale for 15 minutes and I score two front row balcony seats at Robins Theatre. I’ve never been to this venue that is over an hour drive but I'm not scared. After doing a google search of the area I discover it’s across the street from the courthouse and there are two bail bond businesses on the same block. Still not scared, I love an edgy neighborhood.

The Robins Theatre was built in 1922. At time of opening, the exterior was in Italian Renaissance style and the interior had Vermont marble columns and grand staircases with ornate walls and ceiling. The 1400 seat theater remained in operation until 1974 when the doors were closed until renovations began in 2017. Renovations included restoring the original splendor along with adding modern amenities. I think it’s great, the very first concert venue I’ve been to with a chandelier in the bathroom.

I have always preferred tickets in hand, I’m that guy that prints out tix instead of having them on my phone or picking up at ‘will call’. Many venues now only allow electronic tix so I’ve slowly, albeit reluctantly shifted to the new era of technology, old habits are hard to break. After going through the metal detector and having the wand passed over my belt buckle several times, Mrs. Buckeye flashes her phone to the ticket taker…INVALID. Pardon me? Could you please try again? INVALID!

Panic races through my body as I begin to internally meltdown and imagine a stress filled hour drive home (i.e. blaming Mrs. Buckeye for no reason and later regretting it). We go to the box office that is next door and after a short wait we are issued a pair of old school tix with names and numbers. Nice souvenir and glad I said nothing to regret

The evening begins with an introduction by Ruf Records founder, Thomas Ruf (pronounced ‘roof’). I think it’s extremely cool that this guy from Germany has built a successful record label signing country, roots and blues artists. The music begins with Ghalia Volt who hails from Belgium. She is a one-woman wrecking crew that performs while seated with her guitar and a kick drum operated by her left foot, a snare with her right. Nice 20 minute set that was warmly met.

I witnessed what I believe was a world record for shortest time between bands. In less than 10 minutes, Canned Heat took the stage and went straight into “On The Road Again”. The only original member from back in the day is their drummer, Fito (Adolfo de la Parra). The new members were certainly age appropriate to have witnessed those early shows at Monterey Pop and Woodstock. I only mention this because I’ve seen other bands with one original member that have been surrounded by much younger band mates and the authenticity to the era is non-existent.

Most bands of this ilk run through a set of oldies for a trip down memory lane. While the band did include “Up The Country” and “Work Together” as expected they also introduced two new songs. I smile that Canned Heat is still pushing the envelope with recently released material from their 2024 album "Finyl Vinyl" even when performing as an opener. Also included during the set was a guest appearance by Ruff Record stablemate and guitarist Bernard Allison who performed two songs. Job well done by all.

The majority of the crowd was of the age expected for fans of Canned Heat and Mitch Ryder. I expected a much younger crowd since headliner Samantha Fish is only 35 years old. I do understand older gentlemen being attracted to Samantha Fish (smiling). However…it was apparent from the moment that Samantha took the stage that this older crowd was here for Samantha Fish. Does this mean that the musical category of blues is generating new artists but not new fans? I won’t overthink this because of the venue and type of show certainly could factor into the equation.

Samantha with her short curly tasseled blond hair and heavy eyeliner opened with "Wild Heart". She was backed by an extremely tight outfit consisting of Mickey Finn (keyboards), Ron Johnson (bass) and Jamie Douglas (drums). She started the show with a white SG and changed guitars between nearly song but by the end she was back to rockin’ that SG.

I don’t want to overstate or understate this; Samantha Fish and her band had the best sound I’ve ever heard at a concert…the very best. Maybe it was in part due to the natural acoustics of the theatre or maybe our location of being perched at the front of the balcony. The fact that the show was not over amplified probably helped as well. Don't get me wrong, the loud parts were loud but the dynamics were extreme because you could hear a pin drop during the quiet parts. The funny thing is that the videos I've watched on YouTube sound like any other concert, go figure.

Samantha was great as she changed up the pace from slow blues to robust rockers. She had the crowd singing choruses and she also played a knock-out version of her latest single which is a cover of, "I Put A Spell On You". The highlight for me was the song "Bullet Proof". Everything was great.

Lest I forget, Mitch Ryder came out a little over half-way through the show for a couple numbers. Mitch had to be led to a microphone, he was slightly hunched and appeared frail. Appearances can be deceiving because his voice was booming and anything but frail. I was hoping to hear some of his 60's classics but instead got two songs which are from his 2024 release on Ruff Records. First was "Tough Kids" which first appeared on Mitch's 1978 album (How I Spent My Vacation) followed by a Bob Dylan cover of "From A Buick 6". As quickly as he was led on the stage, he was led off the stage.

Samantha ended her set before the encore with one of her heaviest blues numbers, "Black Wind Howlin'". Normally, I feel an encore is a predetermined fate but I'm not so sure on this evening. The band returned to perform "Goin' Down South" which was from Samantha's time on Ruff Records. She can certainly rock out when so inclined.

I really don't know what else to add other than noting the coolest band t-shirt I saw during this well-seasoned evening of entertainment. It belonged to the keyboardist for Samantha Fish whose name if you remember is Mickey Finn. Mickey was wearing a T Rex Slider album cover shirt. The cool kids in the class will know why this is funny!

Great time, I'm a total fan now and I don't even care what she looks like (smiling). Well done!
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Billy, Don't Be A Porter

[Buckeye Randy]

Who: The Riders In The Sky
Where: Kent Stage (Kent, Ohio)
When: November 16, 2024

Date Night in Kent

The Riders In The Sky are a country western quartet representing a simpler time and certainly several decades before my time. What I know from their promo is they’ve been together for over 40 years and were regulars on The Nashville Network during the early days of cable. They have also won Grammys for their songs appearing in Disney’s Toy Story movies and are members of The Grand Ole Opry.

The band was dressed exactly how you would expect in their western wear with plenty of sequins. Members are; Ranger Doug on guitar, Too Slim on standup bass, Woody Paul on fiddle and Joey the Cowpolka King on accordion (stomach Steinway). The harmonies and musicianship are very good. They included some yodeling and plenty of G-rated comedy banter for this near capacity crowd on a Saturday night in downtown Kent.

I am amused that I was mere feet away from where I was in June when I was standing against the stage being blasted away by The Dictators. I’m like a chameleon.

Sooo…it wasn’t really like going to a concert, the expectations were very different. It was somewhere between going to a school play and going to a circus. Mrs. Buckeye summed up the evening with some comments. “Is this what we’ve become? I’m not ready for this”!

Very professional and entertaining band for people looking for reminders of a bygone era…I’m not quite ready to step in with this crowd but it was a fun time.
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Billy, Don't Be A Porter