FabricationsHQ - Putting the Words to the Music
  • Muirsical Thoughts, Muirsical News Last update: June 18th
  • Latest Articles (links)
  • Jakko M. Jakszyk - Son Of Glen
  • Rigid Soul - Rigid Soul
  • Robin Trower - Oran Mor, Glasgow
  • Gypsy Pistoleros and The Outlaw Orchestra - DreadnoughtRock, Bathgate
  • Ned Evett (May 2025)
  • Bill Nelson - Quit Dreaming And Get On The Beam (Deluxe Edition)
  • Don Airey - Pushed to the Edge
  • Gypsy Pistoleros - Church Of The Pistoleros
  • 2025 Reviews>
    • Dean Owens - Spirit Ridge
    • Félix Rabin - Blue Days EP
    • Simon McBride - Recordings 2020-2025
    • Dim Gray - Shards
    • Steve Hackett - Live Magic At Trading Boundaries
    • James O'Hurley - A Certain Stranger
    • Mud - The Rak Years 1973-75
    • Thorbjørn Risager & The Black Tornado - House Of Sticks
  • 2025 Featured Album Reviews >
    • Erja Lyytinen - Smell The Roses
    • The Damn Truth - The Damn Truth
    • The Adventures - Once More With Feeling
    • Jon Anderson & The Band Geeks - Live Perpetual Change
    • Jason Bieler & The Baron Von Bielski Orchestra - The Escapologist
    • Black Eyed Sons - Cowboys In Pinstriped Suits
    • Dream Theater - Parasomnia
    • Jethro Tull - Curious Ruminant
  • 2024 Reviews >
    • Robert Fleischman - Emotional Atlas
    • Lazarus Heights - Papillon
    • Toby Lee - House On Fire
    • Innes Sibun - The Preacher
    • Ned Evett - Strange Kind Of Freedom
    • DeWolff - Muscle Shoals
    • The Southern River Band - D.I.Y
    • MYPD - Basssik
    • Toby and the Whole Truth - Look Out! Vol.1
    • Blue Nation - The Ordinary People
    • The Round Window - Fram EP
    • Mike Ross - Electric Smoke
    • Mississippi MacDonald - I Got What You Need
    • The Dictators - The Dictators
    • Matt Steady - Flight Of The Raven
    • Various Artists - Tributes : Songs For Neil Vol 5
    • The Sheepdogs - Paradise Alone EP
    • Then Comes Silence - Trickery
    • Caitlin Krisko & The Broadcast - Blueprints EP
    • Deep Purple =1
    • Arielle - Reel To Real
    • Raintown - Acoustic Heart
    • Ivan Drever - Covered
    • Rich Young - Prozac Diary
    • The Dave Foster Band - Maybe They'll Come Back For Us
    • Mr. Big - Ten
    • Jill Jackson - Curse Of The Damned
    • Daryl Hall - D
    • John Oates - Reunion
    • Gagarin - Komorebi
    • Paul Mallatratt - The Planets; Screaming Thru Heartache
    • Quinn Sullivan - Salvation
    • Edit The Tide - Reflections In Sound EP
    • Attic Theory - What We Fear The Most
    • Stone Angels - Up In Smoke
    • Ramblin' Preachers - Sins & Virtues
    • The Treatment - Wake Up The Neighbourhood
    • Ben Hemming - Darkness Before Dawn
    • The Now - Too Hot To Handle
    • Kelowna - Better Day EP
    • Tom Killner - Borrowed Time
    • Beaux Gris Gris And The Apocalypse - Hot Nostalgia Radio
    • The Milk Men - Holy Cow!
    • The Toy Dolls - The Singles
    • Turbulence - B1nary Dream
    • It Bites FD - Return To Natural
    • Blue Öyster Cult - Ghost Stories
    • Hawkwind - Stories From Time And Space
    • These Wicked Rivers - Force Of Nature
    • Alice Di Micele - Interpretations Vol 1
    • Walter Trout - Broken
    • Silveroller - At Dawn EP
    • Jack J Hutchinson - Battles
    • Little Lore - Seven Stories EP (Part One & Part Two)
    • Elles Bailey - The Night Owl & The Lark EP
    • Blue Nation - Reflections EP
    • Rick Wakeman - Live at the London Palladium 2023
    • Chris Wragg and Greg Copeland - The Last Sundown
    • Sons Of Liberty - The Detail Is In The Devil
    • EBB - The Management Of Consequences EP
    • Thunder - Live At Islington Academy 2006; Live At Leeds 2015
    • Robby Krieger And The Soul Savages
  • 2024 Featured Album Reviews>
    • Austin Gold - Ain't No Saint
    • Cats In Space - Time Machine
    • The Outlaw Orchestra - La Familia
    • Mojo Thunder - The Infinite Hope
    • Beth Hart - You Still Got Me
    • Eclipse - Megalomanium II
    • Al Stewart - Past, Present & Future (50th Anniversary Edition)
    • Kenny Wayne Shepherd - Dirt On My Diamonds Volume 2
    • Scalet Rebels - Where The Colours Meet
    • Robert Jon & The Wreck - Red Moon Rising
    • Elles Bailey - Beneath the Neon Glow
    • Jon Anderson & The Band Geeks - True
    • The Commoners - Restless
    • Brave Rival (Fight Or Flight)
    • Al Di Meola - Twentyfour
    • Focus - Focus 12
    • Big Wolf Band - Rebel's Journey
    • Robin Trower - Bridge Of Sighs (50th Anniversary Edition)
    • Vanden Plas - The Empyrean Equation of the Long Lost Things
    • Troy Redfern - Invocation
    • Amigo The Devil - Yours Until The War Is Over
    • Preacher Stone - V
    • Bison Hip - Welcome To The Rest Of Your Life
    • Waysted - Won't Get Out Alive 1983-1986
    • SiX BY SiX - Beyond Shadowland
    • Dan Patlansky - Movin' On
    • Jane Getter Premonition - Division World
    • Today Was Yesterday - Today Was Yesterday
    • Steve Hackett - The Circus And The Nightwhale
    • Mama's Boys - Runaway Dreams 1980-1992
  • 2023 Reviews
  • 2023 Featured Album Reviews >
    • Blue Deal - Can't Kill Me Twice
    • THEIA - The Wet Die Young EP
    • The Round Window - Everywhere & Nowhere
    • Long Road Home - Are We Invisble?
    • Dolly Parton - Rockstar
    • Various Artists - Shake That Thing! The Blues In Britain 1963-1973
    • Kenny Wayne Shepherd - Dirt On My Diamonds Vol. 1
    • The Blue Lena - Darkwood
    • LALU - The Fish Who Wanted To Be King
    • Celebrate It Together : The Very Best Of Howard Jones 1983-2023
    • Stray - About Time
    • Skinny Knowledge - twentytwo
    • Robin Trower (featuring Sari Schorr) - Joyful Sky
    • Trevor Rabin - Rio
    • Vega - Battlelines
    • Downes Braide Association - Celestial Songs
    • High Pulp - Days In The Desert
    • Starlite & Campbell - STARLITE.ONE
    • Matteo Mancuso - The Journey
    • Oli Brown & The Dead Collective - Prelude & Prologue EPs
    • Extreme - Six
    • Bison Hip - Older Stronger Better
    • Joy Dunlop - Caoir
    • Mike Ross - Third Eye Open
    • Martin MIller - Maze Of My Mind
    • Cruachan - The Living and The Dead
    • King Kraken - MCLXXX
    • Heavy Metal Kids - The Albums 1974-1976
    • Anchor Lane - Call This a Reality?
    • Doomsday Outlaw - Damaged Goods
    • Hayley Griffiths - Far From Here Hayley Griffiths Band - MELANIE
  • 2022 Reviews
  • 2022 Featured Album Reviews >
    • Moon City Masters - The Famous Moon City Masters
    • Steve Hill - Dear Illusion
    • Kira Mac - Chaos is Calling
    • EBB - Mad & Killing Time
    • The Commoners - Find A Better Way
    • Rebecca Downes - The Space Between Us
    • Erja Lyytinen - Waiting For The Daylight
    • Chris Antonik - Morningstar
    • The Milk Men - Spin The Bottle
    • SiX BY SiX - SiX BY SiX
    • Jeff Berlin - Jack Songs
    • Keef Hartley Band - Sinnin' For You The Albums 1969-1973
    • Toby Lee - Icons Vol.1
    • Montrose - I Got The Fire : Complete Recordings 1973-1976
    • Orianthi - Live From Hollywood
    • Valeriy Stepanov Fusion Project - Album No. 2
    • Dan Reed Network - Let's Hear It For The King
    • Ali Ferguson - The Contemplative Power Of Water
    • Edgar Winter - Brother Johnny
    • Joe Satriani - The Elephants Of Mars
    • Dave Cureton - State Of Mind
    • Larry McCray - Blues Without You
    • Tears for Fears - Tipping Point
    • Kris Barras Band - Death Valley Paradise
    • Dan Patlansky - Shelter of Bones
    • Black Lakes - For All We've Left Behind
    • Wille & The Bandits - When The World Stood Still
    • LALU - Paint the Sky
    • Various Artists - Revolt Into Style 1979
  • Selected 2025 Gig Reviews >
    • Erja Lyytinen - Nice N Sleazy, Glasgow
    • Troy Redfern - Backstage, Kinross
  • Selected 2024 Gig Reviews>
    • Silveroller - Backstage, Kinross
    • Dave Arcari - Harbour Arts Centre, Irvine
    • Jack J Hutchinson - Bannermans, Edinburgh
    • Gypsy Pistoleros - Bannermans, Edinburgh
    • Kira Mac - Oran Mor, Glasgow
    • Sari Schorr; Matt Pearce & The Mutiny - Oran Mor, Glasgow
    • Dan Patlansky - Oran Mor, Glasgow
    • The Davey Pattison Band - Backstage, Kinross
    • Verity/Bromham Band - Backstage, Kinross
    • Moving Pictures - Venue 38, Ayr
    • The Countess Of Fife - Harbour Arts Centre, Irvine
    • Connor Selby - Backstage at the Green, Kinross
    • Rebecca Downes - Backstage, Kinross
  • Selected 2023 Gig Reviews >
    • Ben Poole - The Ferry, Glasgow
    • Moving Pictures - The Garage, Glasgow
    • Hamish Stuart & James Bown Is Annie; Hamilton Loomis - Darvel Music Festival
    • Amigo The Devil - The Classic Grand, Glasgow
    • Davey Pattison Blues Band - DreadnoughtRock, Bathgate
    • Joe Satriani - O2 Academy, Glasgow
    • Walter Trout - Oran Mor, Glasgow
    • Dan Patlansky - Stereo, Glasgow
    • Sari Schorr - The Classic Grand, Glasgow
    • Focus - The Ferry, Glasgow
    • Elles Bailey - The Caves, Edinburgh
    • The Blackheart Orchestra - Hotel Utopia UK tour
    • The Wilson Brothers - Backstage at the Green, Kinross
  • Selected 2022 Gig Reviews >
    • WinterStorm Rock Weekender - Troon
    • Jack J Hutchinson - Bannermans, Edinburgh
    • Paul McCartney - Pyramid Stage, Glastonbury 2022
    • Daryl Hall - Ryman Auditorium, Nashville
    • Joe Bonamassa - SEC Armadillo, Glasgow
    • Dan Patlansky - Oran Mor, Glasgow
    • Eric Gales - Oran Mor, Glasgow
  • Muirsical Conversations 2025>
    • Sandi Thom (February 2025)
  • Muirsical Conversations 2024>
    • Mississippi MacDonald (December 2024)
    • Walter Trout (October 2024)
    • Albert Bouchard (August 2024)
    • Robert Berry - August 2024
    • Troy Redfern (May 2024)
    • Dan Patlansky (March 2024)
    • Connor Selby (February 2024)
  • Muirsical Conversations 2023>
    • Del Bromham (November 2023)
    • Sari Schorr (October 2023)
    • Suzy Starlite & Simon Campbell (September 2023)
    • Ali Ferguson (August 2023)
    • Leoni Jane Kennedy (August 2023)
    • Joy Dunlop (May 2023)
    • Dan Patlansky - April 2023
    • Hayley Griffiths (February 2023)
    • Steve Hill (January 2023)
  • Muirsical Conversations 2022>
    • Rebecca Downes (December 2022)
    • Chris Antonik (November 2022)
    • Pat Travers (October 2022)
    • Robert Berry (August 2022)
    • JW-Jones (August 2022)
    • Mike Ross (July 2022)
  • Selected Muirsical Conversations From The Archive>
    • Bernie Marsden (December 2021)
    • Robin George (November 2021)
    • Dennis DeYoung (June 2021)
    • Robert Berry (March 2021)
    • Dan Reed (February 2021)
    • Steve Hackett (January 2021)
    • John Verity (September 2020)
    • Steve Hackett (July 2020)
    • Gary Moat (March 2020)
    • Steve Hackett (October 2019)
    • Rebecca Downes (May 2019)
    • Ben Poole & Wayne Proctor (January 2019)
    • Dan Reed (November 2018)
    • Del Bromham (October 2018)
    • Brian Downey (September 2018)
    • Raintown - Paul Bain & Claire McArthur Bain (May 2018)
    • Hamilton Loomis (December 2017)
    • Alan Nimmo (October 2017)
    • Erja Lyytinen (September 2017)
    • Suzi Quatro (September 2017)
    • Biff Byford (August 2017)
    • Dan Patlansky (June 2017)
    • Graham Bonnet (May 2017)
    • Simon Thacker (April 2017)
    • Sari Schorr (March 2017)
    • Stevie Nimmo (February 2017)
    • Dan Reed (February 2017)
    • Adam Norsworthy (January 2017)
    • Colin James (December 2016)
    • John Lees (October 2016)
    • Sari Schorr (August 2016)
    • Mike Vernon (August 2016)
    • Wayne Proctor (July 2016)
    • Laurence Jones (April 2016)
    • Chantel McGregor (March 2016)
    • John Young (January 2016)
    • Michael Schenker (November 2015)
    • Martin Barre (October 2015)
    • Chris Norman (September 2015)
    • Joanne Shaw Taylor (August 2015)
    • Fee Waybill (July 2015)
    • Ian Anderson (June 2015)
    • John Lodge (June 2015)
    • John Lawton (May 2015)
    • Steve Hackett (May 2015)
    • Manny Charlton (April 2015)
    • Ben Poole (April 2015)
    • Alan Nimmo (February 2015)
    • Popa Chubby (December 2014)
    • Paul Young (July 2014)
    • Bernie Shaw (June 2014)
    • Lee Kerslake (December 2013)
    • Pat Travers (September 2013)
    • Steve Hunter (August 2013)
    • Joy Dunlop (March 2013)
    • Gwyn Ashton (Dec. 2012)
    • Greg Lake (October 2012)
    • Ned Evett (August 2012)
    • Steven Lindsay (July 2012)
    • Dave Cureton (June 2012)
    • Jon Anderson (May 2012)
    • Jeremey Frederick Hunsicker (March 2012)
    • Amy Schugar (Feb. 2012)
    • Robert Fleischman (November 2011)
    • Ivan Drever (Sep. 2011)
    • Michael Sadler (June 2011)
    • James Evans (April 2011)
    • Alyn Cosker (Nov. 2010)
    • Scott Higham (Nov. 2010)
    • Kevin Chalfant (Oct. 2010)
    • Francis Dunnery (Sep. 2010)
    • Duncan Chisholm (Aug 2010)
  • Muirsical Articles >
    • 2019AB?
    • All the World's a Stage (and people falling off it) – 2015 in Review
    • The Fool Guitar - The Fool Story
    • Alex Harvey - Framed in Words. And pictures
    • Home of a Ramblin' Band (Allman Brothers Band Big House Museum)
    • Journey - That Time Forgot
    • Laser Love - Blue Oyster Cult Glasgow Apollo 29-04-78
    • Phil Lynott - Remembering Pt. 3
    • Freddie Mercury - The Days of His Life
    • Gary Moore - Last Exit
    • Mott - Without any of the Hoople-la
    • Muirsical Six of the Best
    • Music Town: A Decade of the Darvel Music Festival
    • Pat Travers - The Forgotten Power Trio
    • Playing Tribute
    • Preaching to the Glasgow Choir Slade 26-03-1982
    • Gerry Rafferty - Humblebum to Multi-Million Seller
    • Cliff Richard - The Rock and Roll Juvenile
    • Slade - Thanks For the Memories
    • The Sweet - A Cut Above the Rest
    • Talon - On Eagles Wings
    • Wild Horses - Thoroughbreds or also-rans?
  • A Personal Journey: Definitive Edition (eBook)
  • Steve Perry (vocalist): One in a Million (eBook)
  • A Writer's Muirsings >
    • Superbowl XLVII MVP: Beyoncé (February 2013)
    • Michael Jackson: The Alternative Verdict (Nov 2011)
    • True Colours (November 2010)
    • It's a New Language, Old Bean (October 2010)
    • Finger Pointing (July 2010)
    • Suffer the Little Children (April 2010)
    • Hey 'Banker', can you spare a dime? (February 2010)
  • Author Bio & Site Info
  • Contact FabricationsHQ
Muirsical Re-imaginings

Have you noticed just how many classic pop or rock acts have re-emerged since the new Millennium to tread the boards once again, in most cases (but not all) to present what is almost a Greatest Hits nostalgia show for the fans...

The music industry is not just an entertainment industry however, it's a business, and more times than not is also the artists' livelihood, and that has to be respected. It's simply that when any band gets to the (concert) stage of just having the name left as a shadow or label of what was, I become disinterested.

It's simply pushing a band name or, more accurately, a brand name - as Pete Townshend describes The Who in the 21st Century, whilst also making it clear it’s a brand he is proud to be associated with (and rightly so).
Todd Rundgren matched Townshend’s matter-of-factness when he defined his role in The New Cars in 2006 as an opportunity to work with friends and pay the bills more efficiently (the band only featured two of the original Cars with main driver Ric Ocasek declining to take part).
At least they modified the name while acknowledging which band they were a tribute to.


One of the best examples of the brand in action? Take a bow, Thin Lizzy. 

However many of these artists want (or need) to play the songs to a live audience, and that’s how (or why) a number of those acts make a living on the circuit.

The audiences are primarily a new, younger generation of fans who, along with the dedicated hardcore, want to see the classic acts playing the classic tracks, drawn by the name of the band and the songs, no matter what the line-up.

But for others it’s as much about the individuals who are/ were part of the very identity of the band, without whom there would have been no signature sound, classic act or classic tracks in the first place, and without whom later versions struggle to recapture past glories or create new ones.
Many of those acts (by choice or circumstance) become almost a tribute to themselves, and to such a degree that many of the official Tribute Bands are their equal. Or, in some cases, arguably better.


One of the best examples of the tribute in action? Take a bow, Limehouse Lizzy. 

What is clear in many of these reinventions is if they try to copy or emulate what has gone before (particularly if replacing key-component members) they usually produce just that - an imitation of what was, with poorer copy quality.
However if and when the band decide to continue by adding a little redirection, or try to progress whilst still being true to the style of music that made them a success in the first place, they usually retain that success by creating a new audience whilst holding on to some (but never all) of their original fan-base.

One example of the latter immediately comes to mind...

Queen for many are Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor, John Deacon.
End of story.
But May and Taylor were desperate to revisit that music and get back out and perform for a live audience, and did so very successfully - without Deacon (who has retired from the music business and chose not to participate), but with legendary blues rock vocalist Paul Rodgers.
Brian May acknowledges that Freddie Mercury is another that cannot truly be replaced so Queen it isn’t, but with Rodgers they had another seminal and distinctive vocalist at the microphone.

Known collectively as Queen + Paul Rodgers they more accurately celebrated the music of Queen, whilst acknowledging the front man’s own back catalogue and musical legacy by peppering their live shows with classic Free and Bad Company numbers. 

Musical comebacks vary dramatically in how successful they are, but it's hard to beat Journey's return to the news columns and charts in 2008 as regards their own story, the luck involved and the bullets dodged (if you know the whole story).
Not only did they manage to avoid going down with the syncing ship during their on-stage deceptions of 2005 and 2006, they salvaged the wreck, brought it back to dry-dock, fired and hired new crew and by 2008 were charting success on more than one continent with hired hand and YouTube find Arnel Pineda on vocals.   

This type of re-imagining isn’t exclusive to Journey of course, or any of the other reinvented bands.
But this is the age of the re-imagining. Not just a buzzword, but also a fact of entertainment life…

It probably originated in Hollywood with the ‘Hollywood Histories’ when interesting or pivotal periods of world history became easy targets for movie making - but ‘re-imagined’ (rewritten and/ or not historically accurate) to make for a better movie. Ironically they usually make for pretty bad movies in my opinion, but highly successful nonetheless as they honed in on their target audiences.

Then classic movies and television series’ got makeovers, with most producers and suits failing to grasp there was a reason they were hailed as classics in the first place.

And of course to the music industry, as the ever growing list of tribute acts, reinvented classic bands and reformed groups all started to realise there’s money in nostalgia.


Meanwhile future ‘stars’ are being discovered and created via talent programmes such as The X Factor which originated in the U.K. and is franchised to more than two dozen countries. The contestants failure or success is dictated by a panel of experts and the viewing publics vote.
In many instances entertainment value is a bigger deciding factor than musical ability or creativity. 


What’s in a Name? The answer, it seems, is everything. And nothing… 

Tribute acts or singers are becoming interchangeable with the artists they are a tribute to and the musical lines between them are becoming blurrier by the re-imagined month.

An excellent example is the famous progressive rock group Yes, and the decision taken by founder member Chris Squire and long-time classic line-up colleagues Steve Howe and Alan White.

In 2008, after a 40th Anniversary U.S. tour was scheduled, seminal lead vocalist Jon Anderson pulled out due to a very serious respiratory illness.
Rather than cancel proposals and take stock, the band decided to reschedule and continue with tribute singer Benoit David.
Arnel Pineda may have a similar tonality to Journey's classic-era singer Steve Perry, but Benoit David is a true sound-a-like.
Those who are major fans of these acts or have any sort of ear can tell the Perry’s from the Pineda’s, but David has as uncanny vocal resemblance on certain Yes songs and passages.

Anderson seemingly felt "disrespected" by the move, although Squire countered by saying it was an opportunity to "…go out and honour the music of Yes…"
Interestingly, Anderson’s negative comments were later removed from his website and Squire has since stated that the tour has the singers blessings.
Sheer conjecture on my part, but you have to wonder if that’s when performance royalties were agreed (although Jon Anderson relinquished any rights to the Yes name a few years ago, so will have limited involvement in any decisions made).

Band or brand is no longer just a talking point for fans, but a financially viable option for some artists, even if it means reinventing the wheel.
But they usually turn out to be retreads.
Some people will queue/ go online for hours to grab tickets for the latest shows by their favourite name bands and pay almost any price, while others who would have once done exactly the same wouldn’t walk to the bottom of their street or pay a penny/ cent to see that same performance.
Both choices should be respected. 
  
In this new musical Millennium era of iPods, iTune downloads, latest fashions (where look is more important than sound), X Factored stars and the latest idol production lines, the nostalgia/ greatest hits/ ‘anniversary’ tours are the way to survive for most of the classic or reinvented rock genre.
Double head-liner classic rock tours are a lucrative market and Triple Bill shows attract attention.

The big top world is where most of these re-imagined acts now live because new material and chart success are not viable, or highly unlikely, respectively.
But there are exceptions to every rule…

Queen + Paul Rodgers, mentioned earlier, made an impact on the U.K. charts when their album 'The Cosmos Rocks' made #5 in September 2008 but their name/s, pedigree, highly successful live shows and earlier live product almost guaranteed it.

And of course Journey’s 'Revelation' and its chart success.

But their new songs were intentionally written in the style of the classic material, the band are attempting to recreate that ‘legacy sound’ and they haven’t sounded this close to their classic era since…their classic era.
Yet they are a different beast in so many ways from Journey (and the many similar bands) of the '70s and '80s, and in this era of buzzwords and acronyms many people usually refer to the current version as JRNY to differentiate between the classic and the reinvented.

And the reinvented version is a success primarily because of the computerised times we now live in. Who would be singing now and how much of a story would the band be if there had been no lip-syncing expose by those in the know, or no YouTube to hunt down potential singers?
And where would they be now if Arnel Pineda never became the story because the hard drive had?
Syncgate actually put the subsequent journey in motion.

Journey is dead… long live JRNY.
And the rest of 'em.


Ross Muir
February 2009
Website and text contents © FabricationsHQ and Ross Muir
All Rights Reserved