Listening habits and Favorites of 2015

Well, look at the calendar! It's January 2016. I haven't posted a new blog entry since March of 2015 and before that it was my memories of Joe Cocker when he passed in December 2014.  In mid-December, I began seeing a few favorites of 2015. My old employer and friend Dusty emailed me a list of his favorites for the year.  I put together a playlist of some of my favorites to listen to. I'm not sure how many I came up with.
So, let's take a look at some of my favorites for the year 2015(in no particular order).
Most of the albums I will list for this year are going to be bands or musicians that have been around for years. They are still big in my world and my musical spectrum.

Winery Dogs - Hot Streak

I wrote about these guys back in 2013. The "supergroup" featuring drummer Mike Portnoy, bassist Billy Sheehan and guitarist/vocalist Richie Kotzen. These are musicians that are continually working and they are masters of their individual instruments. But, they put together great songs to back up their musical prowess. There are moments of "look at all we can do on our instruments" to those moments of "We dare you to sing along with these songs."

Toto - XIV

The musicians of the band Toto have always been the creme of studio musicians since the band first formed back in the late 70's. For myself and drummers like me, this was the band that gave us the talent of drummer Jeff Porcaro who passed away in 1992 and was replaced by super-drummer Simon Phillips from 1992-2008. In fact, I thought that Toto was over with. Jeff Porcaro was gone. His brother Mike had been playing bass in the band for years and passed away last year after suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease. But, the band recorded this album with original bassist David Hungate, brother Steve Porcaro and David Paich on keyboards and synth along with vocalist Joseph Williams who sang with the band back in the 80's along with mainstay guitarist extraordinaire Steve "Luke" Lukather and session drummer Keith Carlock. The band is saying that this album felt like a natural follow-up to their 1982 album Toto IV.  This was an album that I kept coming back to for musicality and the overwhelming groove and production. It always hit me just right. This past summer they were on tour with Prog giants Yes (minus late bassist Chris Squire) and actually played here in the southwest in El Paso, TX. I missed the concert. I'm sorry I did.

Vanilla Fudge - Spirit of '67

If you've known me the last 30 years and know my drumming favorites, you know that drummer Carmine Appice is one of my all-time favorites. The first album I ever bought at Dustys Records back in the Spring of 1984 was The Best of Vanilla Fudge.  The band had been reuniting in various forms over the years. One of the musical trademarks of Vanilla Fudge is taking hits of the day and giving it a symphonic, psychedelic and bombastic makeover. They debuted back in the year 1967 with new creative covers of the Supremes' You Keep Me Hangin' On and the Beatles' Eleanor Rigby (among others). In 2015, they made a whole album of new cover songs that were hits the year they debuted(1967)  The album begins with someone introducing them as "These rad dudes from the 60's they're called Vanilla Fudge. They take these arrangements from songs that were big hits and they kind of put their symphonic, psychedelic rock trip to them. This is what's kind of coming." This intro sets up the whole album as they re-interpret songs like Heard it Through the Grapevine, I Can See For Miles, and I'm a Believer.  This album was one I would put on the headphones, listen and play drums along to. For me, listening to Carmine lay down a groove is like hanging out with an old friend.

 Whitesnake -  The Purple Album

As a longtime Deep Purple and Whitesnake fan(all lineups), I enjoyed this album. Whitesnake leader David Coverdale decided for 2015 to pay tribute to the band that originally put him in the spotlight. The story was that he had talked briefly to original Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore after the passing of keyboard master Jon Lord. Apparently, there was talk of working together again. But, it never came to fruition. So, Coverdale and his band Whitesnake decided to do an album of Deep Purple tunes from Coverdale's days in the band and the albums Burn, Stormbringer and Come Taste the Band.  I usually shy away from albums full of covers when you can go to the original albums and listen to those. Part of the excitement I experienced from this album was watching a YouTube web series of Coverdale's "Purple" Memories. The difference with Whitesnake and Deep Purple is that Whitesnake has a dual guitarist where Purple has just one. Both Purple and Whitesnake have featured drummer Ian Paice. This new album features drummer Tommy Aldridge on the album. Aldridge has been a favorite of mine for years. So, to hear him playing these classic Purple tunes is really cool.

Zac Brown Band - Jekyll and Hyde

Once again this year, the Zac Brown Band has made my list for favorites. Their new album Jekyll and Hyde is just a great mix of different genres. From Gospel, Rock, Dance and (of course) Country, this album hits everything. So, as I've said before, it's hard to lump this album and this band into a category of just "Country". If this band had come up in the 70's, they may have been lumped into the genre of Southern Rock. I often look to this album for drumming inspiration from the band's drummer Chris "Sweets" Fryar. He even had a cover feature story this past year in DRUM! magazine. I quickly sent a letter into the magazine and was happy to see it published.

One of the songs that served as inspiration (both musically and spiritually) was the song Remedy.

Sammy Hagar and the Circle - At Your Service

As I wrote in my Favorites of 2013, I talked about Sammy Hagar and his ...and Friends album. Sammy has really seemed like an old friend. I would love to sit down and share a drink and talk with the guy. This past year, he toured with his new band known as "The Circle" which features his longtime Van Halen buddy Michael Anthony on bass, his longtime guitarist Vic Johnson and drummer Jason Bonham. Let's just say I was happy with this lineup. I continue to be a huge fan of Jason Bonham and his drumming. He's only a year older than me and he continues to inspire me behind the drumkit. To me, he seemed like the perfect addition to Sammy's solo band. Since Sammy's former drummers Denny Carmassi from Montrose and Alex Van Halen were obviously influenced by Jason's dad John "Bonzo" Bonham, it's only natural that the legacy of the Bonham name continue playing with a solid act like Sammy Hagar with 40 years of recorded history. This live album tackles songs from Sammy's years in Montrose, his solo career, Van Halen and they even cover some classic Led Zeppelin tracks too. So, the setlist was exactly what I wanted to hear with a band that continues a sound that isn't heard much anymore. In mid-December, Sammy announced that a DVD would be released of this recording. Add that to my wishlist.

Jeff Lynne's ELO - Alone in the Universe

During last year's Grammy Awards broadcast, Ed Sheeran appeared with one of my childhood favorite bands The Electric Light Orchestra AKA ELO. The Grammy crowd was on their feet dancing and even Paul McCartney was singing along to Evil Woman.  So, one of the music stories I was following this last year was the return and release of Jeff Lynne's ELO and the album Alone in the Universe. There was a pre-release album listening available a week before its release. I listened and anticipated it. I took it in. It didn't light me on fire like Fire on High or any other of the band's legacy recordings. But, some of the nostalgia associated with this band gave me cause to give the album repeated spins. Even the lead single brought back memories as Jeff sang about When I Was a Boy.

Vintage Trouble - 1 Hopeful Rd. 

I'm not sure where I heard of this band Vintage Trouble. Perhaps it was website specializing in Classic Rock. Maybe it was cover feature on the band's drummer in DRUM! magazine again. The album is soulful, rocking, funky and everything that tickles my musical funny bone. Great album from great band that's worth the listen.

These were the albums that hit me big time for the year of 2015. Another few albums that I've had some interest and have given them a couple listens.
David Gilmour - Rattle That Lock

Another solo outing from Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour. I liked this album. But, I felt the need to go back, enjoy and listen to some of his past solo albums. So, I really haven't given Rattle That Lock a good listen yet.

Dead Daisies - Revolucion

A Classic Rock band comprised of former members of bands like Guns N' Roses, Whitesnake and Motley Crue. Bassist Marco Mendoza(Whitesnake) Dizzy Reed(GN'R) and onetime Crue vocalist John Corabi made up this rocking band that toured the world opening up for such bands as Whitesnake and KISS. Drummer Brian Tichy played drums live with the band too. The one thing that sparked my interest was a cover of Cactus cover of Willie Dixon's Evil.

My biggest favorites of the year were the deluxe reissues of Led Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti, Presence, In Through the Out Door, and Coda.  With added sound fidelity and sound levels on this batch, it was a pleasure to dial up these songs on my MP3 player and play along on the drums. 

Musically, this year has been a busy one. I am currently playing with 2 gigging bands. One is a Blues/Rock combo known as The Morgan Brothers Band and the other is a local Country artist Vince Alten. Vince has recorded a few of his original songs in Nashville and the band he put together here in New Mexico is a really top-notch group of musicians. I'll even put up a link to the band playing a recent anniversary event at the local music store. We're planning for bigger and better things for both bands in 2016.

Happy New Year and here's to new music in 2016.