Minarik Goddess- Instrument Review

   The Goddess series of guitars are made by a company in southern California called Minarik. Far from being a well known and established brand, Minarik is an upstart company formed seven years ago that provides musicians with beautiful (subject to opinion) guitars and basses at relatively affordable prices.

    The Goddess is a solid mahogany guitar with a quilt maple top, the guitar also has paua abalone binding on the sides and an abalone/ mother of pearl neck inlay. The guitar comes with two "Tone Perfect" humbuckers, and those pickups live up to the name "Tone Perfect." The pickups have a very high output have a very warm sound to them, on distortion channels they scream. A guitar that can only play high gain channels is useless though, thankfully this guitar cleans up very nicely. This guitar sounds so good on clean channels that I wouldn't think twice about bringing it to a jazz gig and plugging into a small 1x12 amp in a small jazz club with just a "Real Book" to know what I'm doing. Coming in at $899 this guitar isn't cheap but it plays like a guitar worth much much more than that. A great buy for anyone interested in a versatile, beautiful, guitar at a fair price look no further.

Paul McCartney "Good Evening New York City" Review

   

     I shouldn't even  be writing a review for this album. It's Paul McCartney, he's a friggin' Beatle. If that's not merit enough for you to go out and listen to this stunning live album then there be something wrong with you matey. This album is a recording straight from the soundboard of Paul McCartney playing at Citi Field in New York City. The setlist consists of 33 songs that could all be considered classics in their own right, something almost no other recorded artist in history can claim. The album is 2 hours and 3 minutes long which is crazy long for an album, but you're not gonna want to skip even one minute of any song on this set.

     It's amazing to see what taking care of yourself and your body will do for you as you age. Paul McCartney is 72 years old, but since he's taken care of his voice and his health over his life the show's that he puts on are still incredible. Unlike many other older artists who have to lower the key of their songs to be able to sing and perform them, Paul McCartney is still singing all of his old classics in their original key and at their original pitch. It's that and the fact that his backing band is so damn tight that makes this album a joy to listen to. Do yourself a favor and listen to this album from the most successful recording artist of all time, there's not enough good I can say about it.

     Jeff Buckley released "Grace" on August 23, 1994. It's the only complete studio album we ever got from Jeff Buckley before his untimely death. "Grace" is such a masterful piece of work however that it's fitting that this be his only work because it encompasses everything that made Jeff Buckley such a special artist. Aspects like Buckley's insane three and a half octave vocal range, his ability to cover a song and make it his own, and his mixing of alternative rock with aspects from R&B and Jazz among many genres to make a body of work that stays in your mind and begs you to listen to it again.

     Clocking in at just  under 52 minutes in length, "Grace" is a substantial album that takes just the right amount of time to present what Buckley had to offer. "Grace" is a moody album that has gained a cult following in the 20 years since it's initial release. Songs like "So Real" and "Lover You Should" present Buckley as a man who has a love that while he needs, shows that this love that he has also makes him depressed at times. Even the more radio friendly songs like "Last Goodbye" and "Grace" that you could show to anyone and still appreciate the complexity in the instrumentation and the flourishes that Buckley puts into these songs to make them more than they seem on the surface.
     Of the ten songs on the album three of them are covers that Buckley transforms into songs of his own that mesh perfectly with the album and they never once feel out of place. The three songs are "Lilac Wine", "Corpus Christi Carol", and probably one of the most famous covers of all time "Hallelujah" which was originally written by Leonard Cohen, and Buckley made his own version the definitive version of the song, to the point that most people who know of the song have heard the Jeff Buckley version.
     "Grace" is a masterful work of art that cements Jeff Buckley's place as a cult legend in alternative rock, and it's a shame that his life had to be cut so short when he had so much to offer to the world through his music. If anything though, "Grace" is an album that will stand the test of time and deservedly so, every song on the album works well with one another and the flow of the album is great throughout. A great listening through and through that should be more widely known but for those who will listen it's an album you won't soon, if ever forget.

Standout Songs: Grace, Lilac Wine, Eternal Life, Last Goodbye, Hallelujah.

Songs You Can Afford to Skip: None really, the album works best when you listen to it from start to finish as every songs serves a purpose not only to itself but the song that came before it and the song that will follow it.a

"Love Ire and Song" Mini-Review

" Love Ire and Song" is the second album by English Folk artist "Frank Turner" and while this album is a restatement of ideas from his first album, "Sleep is for the Weak", the ideas are restated in a way that they feel fresh. The production quality has also stepped up and the addition of Turner's backing band " The Sleeping Souls" gives the album a much fuller presence. Turner's penchant for lyric and song writing are on full display in this album as almost every song on this album, except for one, is a great and memorable song in its own right but when all the songs are put together they create a tremendous listening experience that never overstays its welcome, clocking in at just over 45 minutes long.

With this album it's easy to see why Turner has gained such a large following in the folk scene. His writing is about problems that everyone faces and how he deals with them. Songs having to do with such things as the death of a close friend and how to cope with it(Long Live the Queen). Of wanting to continue advancing as a person chasing their dreams while never forgetting that life is about living and that sometimes growing up isn't the best in every situation (Photosynthesis).

If you're looking for an album to just listen to and have a good time without too much though needed, this album works very well. If you want an album that you can analyze and see what the artist wants you to see through their writing, and to share their journey with you, then this album is great for that too. This album is a must buy in my opinion and to not listen to it would be unfortunate as you would be missing out on a great experience, nothing revolutionary, but something great throughout.

Standout Tracks: "Photosynthesis", "Long Live the Queen", " Substitute", and "Love Ire and Song."

Tracks you can afford to skip: "Love Worth Keeping"

First Post... Am I doing this correctly?

I have no clue how to work this stuff.

This is a cat with pancakes, how dope is that?