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New Deep Purple CD titled 'Rapture Of The Deep' will be released at the end of October on Edel Records ... Pink Floyd tribute album 'Back Against The Wall' is due for release 27 September. This remake of 'The Wall' features Glenn Hughes, Steve Morse, Dweezil Zappa, Rick Wakeman, Keith Emerson, Steve Lukather, Ian Anderson, Robbie Krieger and many others ... Seether to support Audioslave on US arena tour starting 24th September. Seether's 'Karma And Effect' has been certified gold in the US ... Jack Hammer to launch 'The Pilgrim' at Die Boer in Durbanville on 13th September ...

"Benjy says..." Archive

Benjy says...

The Rare Earth special brought back a lot of great memories; songs like "Get Ready", "I Just Want To Celebrate", "Smiling Faces" and the like remind us just how inventive and creative the 70's were; there were 'real' musicians, 'real' songs and the willingness and talent to explore the boundries of music via integrated 'jamming'. Rare Earth were the only rock band to be signed to Berry Gordy's Motown Records and enjoyed an amazing run of huge hit records throughout the period. "Get Ready" in particular is one of the great rock classics and the live version, culled from the "In Concert" album, still gets my feet tapping furiously! Sadly the "In Concert" CD release has disappeared off the radar and can only be found by trawling the Internet for second hand copies. However "Ma" is available as well as the first 2 albums on one CD ("Get Ready" and "Ecology"). The band are still going strong and although they have released albums throughout the late 80's and 90's, like so many bands of the period their time has passed ........ Next week's special will be the magical Stevie Ray Vaughan. Also up next week will be Part 2 of the Bruce Springsteen interview, "Inside Devils and Dust", where The Boss discusses the inspiration behind the songs and recording of his great new album ... Plus .... our weekly blues feature, prog rock triple play, comedy slot, off-the-wall songs and of course the best in classic and new retro rock.

Rock of Ages's recommendations

If you listened to the opening tune on Thursday night you could not have failed to be blown away by Jake E Lee's version of the Procul Harum classic "Whiskey Train". Whilst there has been a recent spate of guitarists covering the great rock songs of the 60's and 70's, and not often successfully either, Jake's new album "Retraced" (Shrapnel Records) bristles with unbridled power and energy. Teaming up with bassist Tim Bogert (Vanilla Fudge, Cactus, Beck Bogert and Appice), drummer Aynsley Dunbar (played with just about everybody) and vocalist Chris Logan, Jake rips through the likes of Free's "I'll Be Creepin'", Grand Funk's "I Come Tumblin'", Montrose's "Rock Candy", Johnny Winter's "Guess I'll Go Away" and the James Gang's epic "Woman". "Retraced" joins my list of best rock albums of 2005 and should not be missed.

Joining the growing ranks of impressive new Cape Town rock bands are the mighty Mochines: their 5 track EP reeks of Jack Daniels, Lucky Strikes and late nite to-the-max partying. Songs like "Miles Away" and "Pale Horse" are packed with gut wrenching guitar riffs that echo early AC/DC and Aerosmith ... this band mean business and I look forward to catching them live soon. At this stage the EP seems to be only available via the band's website www.themochines.com ..... Watching the new Eagles DVD "Farewell Tour 1 - Live From Melbourne" its hard not be impressed with how tight and cohesive the band sound. None of the inter member tension, so evident on the "Hell Freezes Over" tour, is present as they faultlessly deliver a 'greatest hits' set as well as some solo stuff from Mssrs Henley, Frey, Schmidt and Walsh. In particular guitarist Joe Walsh really stands out, playing and singing as if he was a 20 year old. His guitar playing is absolutely outstanding, confirming his status as one of the great rock players of all time. "Live From Melbourne" is a double disc set, released by Gallo and in addition to the 30 songs it also includes interview footage and bonus features .... Well worth investing in.

Finally rock lovers can look forward to a couple of gems scheduled for release soon: The new Stones album "A Bigger Bang", out next month via EMI; The Cream reunion "Live at the Royal Albert Hall" on CD and DVD out on October 3 via Gallo Records and the Abstract Truth "Silver Trees/Totum" reissue in early September (available to pre-order online here).

Best regards

Benjy
Studio numbers: 021-4342523/2525

Disclaimer: The views, opinions, rants, raves and ramblings expressed on this website are the author's own and in no way reflect the views of Radio 2000 or the SABC.

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Stay tuned every Thursday 8-12pm for the best in classic rock on RADIO 2000.

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Your Host

Benjy Mudie
Then	Now

Benjy Mudie was inducted into the South African Rock Hall Of Fame on 14th August 2002. Of Scottish origin, Mudie started out in the music industry working in record shops. He later became the A&R man for WEA records, signing such luminaries as Lesley Rae Dowling, Baxtop and Falling Mirror. He has ventured briefly into the realms of songwriting, getting co-writing credit for Little Sister's song 'You Got My Heart', but it is mainly for his running of record labels, notably Tusk and more recently Fresh and Retro Fresh that he is honoured. With these labels he has tirelessly dedicated himself to putting South African music out there, showing an unshaking belief in the quality of SA music.

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