FabricationsHQ - Putting the Words to the Music
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  • 2022 Reviews
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    • Moon City Masters - The Famous Moon City Masters
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    • Various Artists - Revolt Into Style 1979
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    • Dave Bainbridge - To The Far Away
    • Lachy Doley - Studios 301 Sessions
    • Mark Pontin Group - Kaleidoscope
    • The Mentulls - Recipe For Change
    • Plush - Plush
    • Wayward Sons - Even Up the Score
    • Pat Metheny - Side-Eye NYC (V1.IV)
    • Steve Hackett - Surrender Of Silence
    • Sweet Crisis - Tricks On My Mind
    • Amanda Lehmann - Innocence and Illusion
    • Chantel McGregor - Shed Sessions Volume One & Volume Two
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    • Jeff Kollman - East of Heaven
    • The Damn Truth - Now Or Nowhere
    • Dennis DeYoung - 26 East Vol 2
    • Mark Lettieri - Deep: The Baritone Sessions Vol 2
    • Reach - The Promise Of a LIfe
    • Jane Getter Premonition - Anomalia
    • Mason Hill - Against The Wall
    • Lyle Workman - Uncommon Measures
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    • Jason Bieler and The Baron Von Bielski Orchestra - Songs For The Apocalypse
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    • McCartney III
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    • Jim Kirkpatrick - Ballad of a Prodigal Son
    • Abel Ganz - The Life of the Honey Bee & Other Moments of Clarity
    • Toby and the Whole Truth - Ignorance is Bliss (25th Anniversary Edition)
    • Everyday Heroes - A Tale of Sin & Sorrow
    • Skintrade - The Show Must Go On
    • Robert Jon & The Wreck - Last Light on the Highway
    • Pat Metheny - From This Place
    • Anchor Lane - Casino
  • Selected 2023 Gig Reviews...
    • 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
  • Selected 2021 Gig Reviews...
    • Sweet - The Garage, Glasgow
    • The Damn Truth - Now Or Nowhere Record Release Experiment Live
    • Anchor Lane - Lockdown Live, DreadnoughtRock, Bathgate
    • Laurence Jones - Live From Camden, Powerhaus, London
    • Joe Bonamassa - Austin City Limits, Live Stream
    • Todd Rundgren - Clearly Human Virtual Tour, "Pittsburgh"
  • Selected 2020 Gig Reviews...
    • Jared James Nichols - Garage G2, Glasgow
    • Oscar Cordoba Band - Blue Arrow, Glasgow
    • Rebecca Downes Band - The Ice Box, Glasgow
    • Ben Poole Trio - Room 2, Glasgow
    • Sensational Alex Harvey Experience - DreadnoughtRock, Bathgate
    • The Aristocrats - Liquid Rooms, Edinburgh
    • Fat Suit - Drygate, Glasgow
    • Francis Dunnery's It Bites - St Lukes, Glasgow
  • Selected 2019 Gig Reviews...
    • WinterStorm Rock Weekender IV - Troon
    • Hawkwind - 02 Academy, Glasgow
    • Opeth - SWG3 Galvanizers, Glasgow
    • Félix Rabin - Nice 'N' Sleazy Glasgow
    • Anchor Lane - G2, Glasgow
    • Stray - Backstage at the Green, Kinross
    • Danny Bryant - Backstage at the Green, Kinross
    • Talon - Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow
    • Lifesigns - Smiles of Musical Travel
    • A Whole Lotta Rock 3 - featuring Rattlesnake Tattoo, Prestwick
    • Chantel McGregor - Hard Rock Cafe Glasgow
    • Pete Way Band - Customs House Hotel, Greenock
    • Raintown and Katee Kross - Village Theatre, East Kilbride
    • Danny Vaughn - DreadnoughtRock, Bathgate
    • NR Rocks 2019 - DreadnoughtRock, Bathgate
    • Arran Rock 'N' Blues Fest 2019
    • Cheap Trick - 02 Academy, Glasgow
    • The Blind Lemon Gators - Tolboth, Stirling
  • Muirsical Conversations...
    • Rebecca Downes (December 2022)
    • Chris Antonik (November 2022)
    • Pat Travers (October 2022)
    • Robert Berry (August 2022)
    • JW-Jones (August 2022)
    • Mike Ross (July 2022)
    • Dan Patlansky - March 2022
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    • Ben Poole & Wayne Proctor (January 2019)
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    • 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)
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  • FabricationsHQ Q&As With...
    • Jeff Kollman - August 2021
    • Lyle Workman (March 2021)
    • Jason Bieler (February 2021)
    • Félix Rabin (February 2020)
    • Chantel McGregor (August 2019)
    • Greig Taylor (July 2019)
    • Adam Norsworthy (June 2019)
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  • Muirsical Articles...
    • 2019AB?
    • 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
    • KISS - Elder Statesmen, Elder Statement?
    • 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
    • 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...
    • A Writer's Muirsings: Introduction
    • 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)
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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
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