Midnight Rhumba, by Johannes Linstead

The latest release from Johannes Linstead is far from your typical Spanish flamenco guitar album.

Rather, it is a hearty and robust collection that varies between full-bodied, invigorating rhythms and beautiful romantic ballads, with some interesting curveballs thrown into the mix for good measure.

While Linstead manages quite a lot of different styles on his instrument, his exquisite lead phrasing shines on many of the tunes. In addition to guitars, Linstead also plays bass, djembe, keyboards, palmas, percussion, piano, udu, and ukulele.

The presence of violin and viola on several tracks gives them the feel somewhat of ethnic Jewish folk music. Nowhere is this more evident than on “Balzac’s Brew,” which sounds kind of like what I would call Yiddish ragtime.

Linstead's compositions and stellar playing receive support from the talents of Jordan Abraham on accordion and piano, Anastasios Bigas on bongos, congas, and drums, George Crotty on cello, Geoff Hlibka on acoustic guitar, Irina Koroleva on viola, Vasyl Popadiuk on violin, and Max Alejandro Ventura on bongos and cajon.

Anyone who enjoys guitar music will delight in the sonic joys of this record.

--Raj Manoharan

The Monkees’ Good Times! Debuts at Number 14 on The Billboard 200

Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork, and Michael Nesmith (and Davy Jones courtesy of an archival recording from the 1960s) are having a grand old time on the music charts, as their new album Good Times! debuts at number 14 on The Billboard 200.

This is the group’s highest position on that chart since Then and Now … The Best of the Monkees reached number 24 three decades ago in 1986.

With a hit album and a nationwide tour currently underway, The Monkees’ 50^th anniversary is definitely in full swing.

Let the Good Times! roll!

--Raj Manoharan

Muhammad Ali (1942-2016)

From a nonsports fan, in remembrance of an American and world icon.

--Raj Manoharan

Burt Kwouk (1930-2016)

The “original” Cato.

 

--Raj Manoharan

Alan Young (1920-2016)

A horse is a horse, of course, of course – unless it’s Mister Ed.

 

A duck is a duck, of course, of course (yes, I know it doesn’t rhyme) – unless it’s Scrooge McDuck.

 

--Raj Manoharan

CD (Fan) Review – Good Times! by The Monkees

The Monkees’ first new album of the 21^st century is finally here, and it sets the tone perfectly for the celebration of the group’s 50^th anniversary.

Gone are the 1980s gloss rock of Pool It! and the 1990s garage band grit of Justus (both of which are very fine albums and are grossly and unfairly underrated).

In their place is a bright, sparkling, feel-good sound that recalls the musical and cultural zeitgeist of the band’s 1960s heyday, circa 2016.

Produced by Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne and Ivy, the record combines newly completed tracks from the 1960s (allowing the late Davy Jones to appear on Neil Diamond’s very 60s-ish “Love to Love”) with new songs written by surviving Monkees members Micky Dolenz, Peter Tork, and Michael Nesmith, as well as Schlesinger and members of Weezer, Death Cab for Cutie, and Oasis.

Even though Dolenz, Tork, and Nesmith are now in their 70s, they sound as vibrant as they did 20, 30, and 50 years ago. And they get to really showcase their voices to great effect, especially as this time around most of the instrumentation is handled by other musicians.

Vocal/song highlights include Dolenz on the exuberant “Gotta Give It Time,” Jones on the aforementioned “Love to Love,” Nesmith on the poetic “I Know What I Know” (although the version on Nesmith's Videoranch Web site is far superior), Tork on the folksy “I Wasn't Born to Follow,” and Nesmith and Dolenz on both the beautiful “Me and Magdalena” (especially the deluxe album version) and the Heady, psychedelic “Birth of an Accidental Hipster.”

I like Good Times! very much, as well as Pool It! and Justus. They are all equally excellent albums in their own right, each with its unique strengths and infectious idiosyncrasies.

Good Times! is the ultimate 50^th anniversary gift from the remaining Monkees to each other, to Davy Jones, and to the fans.

--Raj Manoharan

New Monkees Album Debuts at Number One on Amazon

The Monkees' 50^th anniversary has gotten off to a fabulous start, with their concert tour underway and their just-released new album Good Times! debuting as the number one bestselling CD on Amazon, ahead of new releases by other veteran artists including Eric Clapton and Paul Simon and today's hottest superstars such as Blake Shelton, Beyonce, and Adele, and even the original cast recording of runaway Broadway success Hamilton.

This is significant, because not only is Good Times! The Monkees' first new album of the 21^st century, but it is also their first album released well into the age of the Internet and the era of digital music. The group's previous album, Justus, came out 20 years ago at the dawn of the World Wide Web and well before the universal availability of online music, failing to make an impact beyond the interest of hardcore fans.

The initial success of Good Times! hints at what could possibly be The Monkees' biggest comeback since their blockbuster resurgence in the 1980s (which, incidentally, didn't extend to their 1987 album Pool It!).

Not bad for a band that's been around for five decades, released only three albums in the last 30 years, and whose members are all in their 70s.

--Raj Manoharan