February 12, 2011

The ALBUM OF THE DAY
RED...Until We Have Faces (2011)
(CD, Allmusic review)

When I saw that a Christian rock band currently is at number 2 on the U.S. Billboard album charts I knew I wanted to check it out. Red has had some success on alternative and mainstream rock stations and I was already familiar with them so I knew that some of this album would be pretty hardcore metal, and it is. On some of the tracks Michael Barnes just shreds his vocal chords. But the whole CD is not like that. In fact, the highlights for me are the "calmer" tracks, like "Not Alone", "Best Is Yet To Come" and the incredibly beautiful track "Hymn For The Missing". While listening to that track I was wishing the whole album was like that. If you like bands like Sevendust or Slipknot you'll like the majority of this album, so with that in mind I recommend it. If that's not your cup of tea you may want to stay away from this one. I'm glad to see a Christian rock band doing so well


ROCK BIRTHDAYS FOR FEBRUARY 12
Ray Manzarek from The Doors is 72; Steve Hackett, formerly with Genesis, is 61; Michael McDonald is 59; Jim Creeggan of the Barenaked Ladies is 41;

ON THIS DATE
1967 Keith Richard becomes the third member of the Rolling Stones to be arrested for “various substances of suspicious nature.”
1968 Jimi Hendrix receives the key to the city in his hometown of Seattle, Washington
1988 Axl Rose walks off the stage in Phoenix, Arizona at a concert where Guns 'N' Roses were the opening act for David Lee Roth. The rest of the shows with DLR are cancelled
1997 David Bowie receives a star on Hollywood`s Walk Of Fame
2005 Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin and Jerry Lee Lewis receive the Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award the day before the Grammys.
2007 Heaven And Hell announce that Vinny Appice will be their drummer instead of Bill Ward

ROCKLINE with Bob Coburn
Monday, February 14 THE GRACIOUS FEW 11:30 PM Eastern/8:30 Pacific Listen here
Wednesday, February 16 STEVIE NICKS 11:30 PM Eastern/8:30 Pacific Listen here
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