Monday May 12, 2008
10 Years
It was the song that wouldn’t go away, the kind of “problem” that any band would love to have. “Wasteland” from “The Autumn Effect”, the debut CD from 10 Years stayed on the Rock singles charts for weeks and weeks, and then months and months, and then before you knew it, half of a year had gone by. There are two sides to that kind of success. The song put the Tennessee band on the map, but it also served as somewhat of an anchor for the rest of the album. Why release another track when you have a song continually perched in the Top 10? They did eventually follow with the beautiful “Through the Iris” and “Waking Up”, but those songs were somewhat shaded by a song that darkened the sun. Ahhh, everyone should have this kind of problem. Almost two consecutive years on the road paid off for the band in a huge way as they gained confidence and experience that was translated into new songs. That growth is obvious upon the first listen to their sophomore effort, “Division”. There are thirteen songs and thirteen possible singles from this extraordinarily beautiful album. The band begins their new cycle of touring at the Rock on the Range festival in Columbus, Ohio on May 17, so we are fortunate to catch up with them before their bags are packed for the long road that lies ahead. Full information regarding the band is available at 10YearsMusic.com and the omnipresent, mandatory My Space site too.
The word beautiful has been used several times in reference to 10 Years in this missive and, of course, “Beautiful” is the title of the first song released to radio from “Division”. The song deals with the division of physical and inner beauty, the price of fame and vanity and what is ultimately important in this world. Central casting certainly did their job well as they chose one of the most stunningly beautiful women we’ve ever seen. Likely she has some issues as a real person, as we all do, but the character she portrays has some serious stuff to deal with and is reminiscent of the continual parade of beautiful Hollywood types, stunning on the outside, but riddled with some really bad mojo under the skin. Her portrayal of a selfish, vacuous shell of a person plays out as the band performs and vocalist Jesse Hasek has a front row seat, watching it all play out in front of him. His detachment and blasé reaction to her very disintegration right in front of our eyes serves as another division. We’re spending a lot of time on just one song from this album. Wait until you hear the entire album, there is plenty to ponder and reflect upon. 10 Years has a plaintive, mournful and soulful sound that few can capture with such grace, elegance and style. The band is as deep as the character in “Beautiful” is shallow. This is an album that demands repeated listens and we are pleased to help start that process as we dive into a masterful recording.
Join us for 10 Years, exclusively on our next ROCKLINE! No divisions, just connections, we promise.
Wednesday May 14 , 2008
Boston
Well, whadda you know? The band that has been so meticulous and reticent to release albums at a breakneck pace over the years is still standing tall and preparing to write another chapter in their incredible journey. No one will ever use the word prolific when referring to the group from the Bay State, but the word quality always enters the conversation. With all the technological advances in the last three decades since the first Boston album hit the airwaves, very, very few can stand up to the way that music sounds sonically. The clarity, the detail, the texture and depth are still technological marvels. Then there are the songs themselves, memorable moments attached to each, all standing singularly on their own as Rock masterpieces. They were the perfect radio records and they put many of the songs surrounding them on the radio to shame, certainly in terms of pure sound. Now it has been announced that a remastered Greatest Hits CD is imminent. How does one make purified water even clearer? That is the only equivalent we can think of and we cannot wait to hear it. The first album, which has sold over a staggering eighteen million copies, was remastered and released in 2006 and serves as the gold standard to show off your sound system. There is not a firm date for the Greatest Hits re-release yet, but good things do come to those who wait and hasn’t that been the Boston creed all these years anyway?
Dates that we are aware of are available at BandBoston.com and those are the dates you’ll need to see to learn when the band will be in your neighborhood. The tour begins in beautiful Thunder Bay, Ontario on June 6th and continues until August 26, making this a good old fashioned summer tour. Word is that many Boston songs that haven’t been played in years will be dusted off and performed by the new line up, including Michael Sweet from Stryper and Tommy DeCarlo in tandem with veterans Jeff Neal, Kimberly Dahme, Gary Pihl and, of course Tom Scholz. In lieu of a live acoustic performance, ROCKLINE has learned that the venerable Mr. Scholz might be inclined to bring some demos from the new album the band is working on. That same scenario occurred several years ago when Tom brought in some unreleased songs that did indeed surface on the “Corporate America” album, which wasn’t released until almost two years after that show. Hey, they take their time, ya know? And no one is complaining. Quality always trumps quantity. That is how Boston has always approached things and it has led to an eighteen times platinum album, an eight times platinum one and a four times platinum CD too. That’s a lot of music that has been scanned and hopefully we will be able to scan a sample or two of what the latest Scholz creations sound like.
It is always a memorable show when Boston joins us and we expect the same this time around. Join us as Tom Scholz and Gary Pihl grace the airwaves, exclusively on the next ROCKLINE!
DEF LEPPARD FULL SHOW NOW IN REPLAY!
On March 26, we played multiple songs from the forthcoming "Songs From The Sparkle Lounge" album by Def Leppard. We couldn't stream this show until the album was released on April 29th (Did you get your copy yet?). Go to the replay section NOW to listen to the full interview (including the great news about Guitar Hero 4), and if you haven't already done so, get to your local music store for your copy of Def Leppard's latest album!
ROCKLINE is
hosted By Bob Coburn
BC's School of Rock:
Final winner announced!
The final winner in BC's School of Rock is:
Isabelle Sweet of East Boston listening on WZLX radio. Congratulations!
Thanks to all of our loyal students for playing!
