This week’s “Dark Wave” featured music by The Fall, Big Black, Nitzer Ebb, Pale Saints, KMFDM, Morrissey, The Cure, The Monochrome Set, Sex Gang Children and more.
The post Playlist: Sirius XM’s “Dark Wave” — hosted by Matt Sebastian (8/16/26) appeared first on Slicing Up Eyeballs.
Crying
I’ll Be There (If You Ever Want Me)
Starbound
Rock And Roll Records
The Old Man And Me
Everlovin’ Woman
Cajun Moon
I’d Like To Love You Baby
Anyway The Wind Blows
Precious Memories
Okie
I Got The Same Old Blues
Released in April 1974, Okie is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter J.J. Cale. Produced by Audie Ashworth, the 12-track record was assembled across various recording locations, including three Nashville facilities – Bradley’s Barn, Columbia Studio B and Woodland Sound Studios – in addition to Cale’s own home setup in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Clocking in at less than half an hour, the LP features Cale’s signature laid-back blend of blues, country, and rock. Notably, Okie marks the first instance where Cale utilised vocal layering – a technique he implemented to compensate for his perceived shortcomings as a singer by double-tracking his vocals to lock in the pitch.
The album sustained Cale’s understated recording career following his 1972 release, Really, and reinforced the idea that even if he didn’t sell albums by the bucketload, his songs might end up in the hands of those who might: I Got the Same Old Blues was covered by Eric Clapton, Freddie King, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bobby Bland, Bryan Ferry and Captain Beefheart, while Cajun Moon was later interpreted Poco, Herbie Mann, and Randy Crawford.
Every week, Album of the Week Club listens to and discusses the album in question, votes on how good it is, and publishes our findings, with the aim of giving people reliable reviews and the wider rock community the chance to contribute.
“Cale moves toward country and gospel on some songs here, but since those are two of his primary influences, the movement is slight. And longtime producer Audie Ashworth attempts to place more emphasis on Cale’s vocals on some songs by double-tracking them and pushing them up in the mix. But much of this is still low-key and bluesy in what was becoming Cale’s patented style.” (AllMusic)
“For J.J., this is adventurous stuff – I Got the Same Old Blues states his world view (you don’t have to listen, just read the title), Starbound adapts his style to some (awful) space pop, and The Old Man And Me introduces a character whom he isn’t making it with (at least he doesn’t mention it).” (Robert Christgau)
“Cale’s excellence as a studio musician is undoubted, but his ‘solo’ efforts have been lacking something – inspiration, I think. This collection is little more than a mish-mash, a dozen songs in at least half as many styles, tied together only by Cale’s harsh vocals. A bit short .” (Tom Hull)
Mike Canoe: The older I get, the more appreciation I have for albums that keep it short. But J.J. Cale’s Okie may actually be too short. With twelve songs crammed into 28 minutes, most of the songs are over just as I’m getting into the groove. All the same, I enjoyed Okie. Love the soft funk of Crying, Rock and Roll Records, and Cajun Moon, the sparkling guitar of I’ll Be There (If You Ever Want Me), the chooglin’ rhythms of Anyway the Wind Blows and Everlovin’ Woman. I just wish they were a little longer. Because we live in a world spoiled for choice, I probably would never have gotten around to listening to J.J. Cale on my own. Gratitude to CRAOTW for expanding my musical horizons yet again.
Evan Sanders: As has come up in a few other comments, I indeed could raise my hand to the question “who has never heard a JJ Cale album”. And now that I have, as well as spent a couple of days listening to more in his catalogue, I feel like I am hearing the blueprints for many blues rock and Southern rock numbers. By itself, Okie is pleasant background music, not annoying, and then I realised how familiar some of the songs sounded based on how they were done by the likes of Eric Clapton, Tom Petty, and more. As a songwriter, JJ Cale deserves ongoing admiration, and it’s ok to recognise that his creations sound best when interpreted by others.
Gary Claydon: Even by JJ Cale’s standards, Okie is laid back almost to the point of soporific, so much so that every time I pressed play my stereo fell asleep. Not for long, though. As well as being the soul of wit, brevity is also a friend to the casual listener at times, and Okie certainly doesn’t outstay its welcome at a pleasant if somewhat unexciting half-hour’s worth. 6/10.
Philip Qvist: I would say that JJ Cale was in the enviable position of being able to record and perform in near anonymity, while writing songs that were picked up by artists who turned them into big hits, which not only secured a comfortable life for himself, but also gave him the financial freedom to do his own thing in the studio. Eric Clapton, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Randy Crawford and Santana all turned his songs such as After Midnight, Cajun Moon and Call Me The Breeze into big hits, while JJ Cale continued to row his own boat.
So what else do I know about one Mr John Welden Cale, who passed away 13 years ago? Well, he was a pretty laid-back performer; he was married to Christine Lakeland, who contributed to many of his later albums as a singer, musician and occasional songwriter, and apart from the above-mentioned numbers, his other well-known songs include Crazy Mama, Sensitive Kind and Don’t Cry, Sister.
Apart from the various JJ Cale compilations, I have listened to the likes of Shades and Grasshopper, but Okie is definitely a new one to me, although I was familiar with the aforementioned Cajun Moon. It’s a pretty laid-back album, no surprises there, but at just 28 minutes long, the album’s brevity is its biggest advantage. There is no chance of you getting bored here.
The covers I’ll Be There and Precious Memories, along with I Got The Same Old Blues and Crying, were my other standout tracks. Okie gets a 7 from me. It’s not essential, but it is still well worth a listen.
Ken Doyle: Classic. There are better songs on other albums, but Okie is my favourite JJ album. Perfect laid-back record that does not dull over decades of returning to this exquisite slice of chilled tunes. Strange that if I described JJ in terms of country blues through a reefer lens, then I’d not be attracted to it, but JJ is different and works for me. 9 out of ten or higher maybe.
Chris Elliott: Chilled doesn’t even begin to describe this record. At first listen, it seemed anonymous – but it grows on you very quickly. It’s spare – it’s definitely laid back, but somehow there’s that little spark that just can’t be ignored.
Lazy sunny days under a tree or with your feet in the river… this is just perfect.
Adam Ranger: A wonderful change of pace.
Listening to JJ Cale is like lying in your favourite armchair being stroked by a velvet glove. Very chilled and very relaxing.
He was never as big or well known as the artists who covered his great songs, but he was OK with that. Those successful covers gave him financial security to do his thing.
For me, this is not the best of JJ Cale albums; that goes to Naturally, Troubador or 5. But Cryin’, Cajun Moon and I Got The Same Old Blues are essential JJ Cale songs. The rest of the album is a nice chilled listen that never really gets me interested like other albums. That said, at 29 minutes you have no time to get bored.
Greg Schwepe: I would wager a very, very large sum of money that for those who wrote reviews this week, this might be the first time you ever listened to an album of J.J. Cale performing his own songs. And for those reading online, you still may have never listened to an album of J.J. Cale performing his own songs.
But, all of you who wrote a review or are reading, I bet you can name enough J.J. Cale songs performed by other artists that it would take two hands to count them all. Am I right?
Yes, Mr Cale seems to be one of those songwriters who happened to make albums, but none were nearly as popular as the ones where one of his songs appeared on. And until I bought The Road To Escondido, which featured Cale and Eric Clapton, I had yet to hear him actually perform his own songs.
Cale’s style is basic, laid-back, easygoing grooves that come at you with no frills. But they keep you so hooked, you could listen to the same songs on an eight-hour road trip and not get bored.
My favourite cuts on Okie are Cajun Moon, Rock And Roll Records, and I Got The Same Old Blues. I will say, while I became a fan of Cale’s music, I do think that Okie is not as good as 5. It just doesn’t have as much oomph to it. Maybe a little flat in the production side of things? Good songs, but they don’t jump out like the ones on 5.
7 out of 10 on this one for me. I was glad I finally listened to him performing his own music. Totally love his style, but this would not be my go-to album.
John Davidson: I had never heard a JJ Cale album before this week. Or if I did, I have forgotten it. And that’s the problem. While the songs may indeed be good, the arrangements here are so laid back they make almost no impact at all. It’s pleasant enough, but nothing about this made me prick up my ears and demand more.
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Hayden Panettiere cause of death: What we know about what happened to the young actress.
The post Hayden Panettiere Cause of Death: Actress Passes at 36 appeared first on Audio Ink Radio.
By Jordan West
Photos by Ron Lyon
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the sold-out show featuring KISS at Anaheim Stadium, the home of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim hosted a KISS-themed evening featuring an appearance and ceremonial first pitch by the band’s founding members — Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. The Angels played against the Kansas City Royals, and won the game for the hometown crowd, 1-0. Aside from the game, it was a night of all things KISS, including KISS-themed in-stadium entertainment, such as KISS music played throughout the evening, giveaways, a live band performing KISS songs, and a post-game KISS-themed fireworks show.
The highlight, of course, was the appearance of Simmons and Stanley, who both threw out ceremonial first balls and were there to promote the release of their upcoming live album box set, KISS Destroys Anaheim ’76 — recorded here in 1976. After a few warmup pitches, Simmons and Stanley each took a spot at the pitcher’s mound and threw to an Angels player, to a loud ovation from the still-arriving crowd.
I spoke briefly to both Simmons and Stanley, and they remarked that the 1976 show was very humbling for them. They added that their popularity among fans at that time gave them a feeling of finally “making it big” in the entertainment business. Stanley said the release of the 1976 album Destroyer elevated the band to a “superstar status,” which they’ve maintained to this day. The Anaheim Stadium concert was held August 20, 1976, before 42,000 fans. Other acts on the bill included Ted Nugent, Montrose and Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band. KISS ruled the day as headliners, as KISS Destroys Anaheim ’76 reveals.
Fans of both KISS and the Angels enjoyed themselves, as they, to paraphrase the famous KISS song, “rock and rolled all nite (sic)…” Many stuck around for the post-game fireworks display that let fans “shout it out loud” on a perfect summer evening in Anaheim.
It’s been a big week for Crossbone Skully, the excellent Def Leppard-alike band led by Alice Cooper axe slinger Tommy Henriksen, who’ve just triumphed in our latest Tracks Of The Week tournament. So congratulations to them, and to Phil Collen, who joined them on the open-top bus victory parade.
Congratulations also to Jack J Hutchinson, whose fancy new song Rise Again pipped The Pineapple Thief’s New World Order in the battle for the minor medals. And now we start again, with eight new candidates lined up to assume Tracks Of The Week Hall Of Fame status. We hope you enjoy them.
Gallop your way into the week with these gothy London rockers, and this heartily good fun slice of their forthcoming album Necropolitan. Teamed with one of their best videos yet, it sucks you into an FM radio-powered kaleidoscope of cultish mischief, monstrously moreish riffs and ’70s living room furniture. “Black Magick Radio is our love letter to occult rock itself, and a promise to spread its gospel as widely as we possibly can,” the band say. “All together now… Eko Eko Azarak, Eko Eko Zomelak…“
With a simple but very effective, toe-tapping verse riff, infectious levels of energy and a touch of Blondie in the chorus melody, the nostalgic Swedes’ latest rock’n’roller makes an appetising case for their next album, Crystal Eyes. Catchy and fast-paced, its rawness laced with glitter, sweat and leather, it was written about “a person or being so irresistible that they take pleasure in ruining relationships and destroying people’s lives, watching them burn to the ground…” Lovely.
Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher return with a heavy, pummelling yet light-footed bang with this first new release following 2023’s Back To The Water Below. “After putting the Royal Blood engine in neutral for a couple of years, we’ve been building up the revs and are playing faster and harder than ever with this album,” the band say of Ten Over Ten’s parent record (coming out in full in November), Dead Company. “Written and recorded with the stage in mind, we cannot wait to play it live for years to come.”
With such a heavy boot in the medieval fantasy camp – where swords and chainmail aren’t so much fashion choices as a way of life – New York doomsters Castle Rat had to write a song with such a title at some point. And so they did, and it rocks. A heady fusion of Sabbathian sludge and treacly 60s/early 70s psychedelia, elevated by Riley ‘The Rat Queen’ Pinkerton’s sumptuous pipes, this newly released single/video version (featured on last year’s The Bestiary album) is just the shot of riffy, escapism we needed to banish those last bits of heatwave brain fog.
Kicking off with a killer, stabbing lead guitar blast that fans of contemporary blues six-stringers like Joe Bonamassa will lap up, Sari Schorr’s new single pounces straight out of the speakers with one apparent aim: to put the ‘rock’ in blues rock. Also, quite a bit of ‘roll’. And so it does, Sari’s vocals on powerful form as slickened Stevie Ray Vaughan vibes keep on punching out around her. Tasty guitar solo, too.
On this new single, Aussie ensemble Battlesnake opt for a lo-fi alt rock approach, with a surprisingly gentle, folky… Just kidding, it’s a ridiculous (yet tight, on-the-money) feast of blood-spurting, skull-crushing, organ-squelching bravado, accompanied by down-tuned riffs the size of mythical monsters, Queen-glittered twin lead guitars and a level of metal-studded swashbuckling of which Rob Halford would be proud. There’s even a horse neighing in there somewhere, for some reason.
Something with a dulcet, countrified sway now – country rock’n’roll by way of Derbyshire, if you will, courtesy of These Wicked Rivers and guest co-vocalist Kezia Gill. Think Lynyrd Skynyrd rugs, gospelly backnotes and heart-warming harmonies between Kezia and rough-crooned frontman John Hartwell. Need something a little gentler and sweeter to accompany your morning cuppa? Try this guy.
And finally, something a little more day-glo. The Sixsters are an all-female Ukrainian rock band who relocated to Essen, Germany, following the 2022 Russian invasion of their homeland. Formed in 2018 in a town near Kyiv, the group was founded by drummer Kateryna Kuziakina when she was just nine years old. Eight years on, they’re producing a beguilingly effervescent mix of punk rock and pop rock, and Can You Believe It is more fun than a litter of puppies on a trampoline. The band’s fifth album, Ghost, was released earlier this year.
Ritchie Blackmore says his recent onstage reunion with Deep Purple after three decades of estrangement was a chance to heal old wounds.
The 81-year old co-founder of the band joined them onstage to perform set closer Smoke On The Water in Wantagh, New York earlier this week.
He hadn’t played with Deep Purple since leaving under a cloud after a show in Helsinki, Finland, in November 1993.
But after 33 years he finally made peace with singer Ian Gillan with whom he has had a frosty relationship since that split in the 90s.
After the performance in New York, Blackmore tells Guitar Player: “It was very moving because I went on very quickly and had to play immediately.
“I couldn’t warm up, but I wasn’t there to be playing correct notes. I was there to see old friends I hadn’t seen in 40 years and we’re all getting older. I think we realised it could be the last time we see each other, maybe.”
The guitar icon admits his performance wasn’t perfect, but adds that wasn’t really the point.
“It was tricky.” he adds. “I didn’t play anything too technical, as I felt I should stick to the rudiments of being simple.
“I still lost my place at one point, but it’s not why I was there. I was there to heal any wounds – but there weren’t any wounds.
“Everyone was like, we were in the army, all along the Western front and we were all getting together again. Very emotional moment.”
There’s no indication whether Blackmore may perform with the band again, but he insists any tension with Gillan is in the past.
He says: “We’re two alpha guys. I’m used to running a band, and I think he’s used to running a band. So we clashed in the old days. But all that changed.”