In This issue #7 we highlight 4 artists and some significant works

Queens of the Stone age

“. …Like Clockwork is the sixth studio album released on June 3, 2013, on Matador Records in the UK. …Like Clockwork has received critical acclaim. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic commented that “…Like Clockwork’ is unusually focused for a Queens of the Stone Age record, containing all of the group’s hallmarks — namely volume and crunch, but also a tantalizing sense of danger, finding seduction within the darkness.” Self-produced by the band, it is the first Queens of the Stone Age album to feature full contributions from bassist Michael Shuman and keyboardist and guitarist Dean Fertita, who had joined the touring band in 2007. The album sees a return of Dave Grohl to the drums for half of the album and there are other guest appearances by rock heavyweights such as Trent Reznor, Elton John, alex Turner and Jake Shears.

 

john Scofield

 One of his more famous releases is the album “A Go Go” a landmark jazz-funk album, with Sco’s soloing and melodic sensibilities making an instant impression.  Released on April 7, 1998, through Verve Records. It is notable as his first collaboration with the avant-garde jazz trio Medeski Martin & Wood (MMW one of the hottest young electric-jazz combos on the planet (both in popularity and skill)). The album is characterized by its deep, hypnotic grooves, blending jazz-funk, fusion, and contemporary jazz. The quartet gets funky on “Chank” and the organ-drenched “Hottentot” and nods to Scofield’s fusion roots on album highlight “Jeep on 35.” It brings together the edginess of jazz and the approachable, broader appeal of R&B. All 10 tracks on the album were composed by John Scofield.

Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns 

                                                                

 

Cello Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 33 Composed in 1872, this is one of the most frequently performed and popular works in the cello repertoire. Unique for its time, it is written as a single continuous movement containing three distinct sections. Noted for its melodic elegance, a second-movement minuet, and a “gloriously playful” style. It typically lasts about 20 minutes. Cello Concerto No. 2 in D minor, op. 119 Composed in 1902, this concerto is much less familiar to audiences and far more technically challenging. It has a two-movement form that is both original and cogent, featuring a distinctive cyclic structure that links the movements. Written for the Dutch cellist Joseph Hollman. Saint-Saëns himself admitted it would never be as popular as the first because of its “fiendishly technical” difficulty, including huge leaps and extensive double-stopping.

 

 

Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 22, composed in 1868, is his most popular and frequently performed piano concerto. It is famous for its unique structural progression, famously described by pianist Zygmunt Stojowski as beginning “with Bach and ending with Offenbach”. The work is notable for deviating from the standard concerto form by starting with a slow movement and increasing in speed. Africa,Op. 89, is a concertante fantasia for piano and orchestra composed in 1891. Written during his travels in Egypt following his mother’s death, the work is a signature piece that blends North African musical traditions with European virtuosity. 

The “Wedding Cake” Caprice-Valse, Op. 76, is a light-hearted work for piano and strings composed in 1885. it is characterized by its brilliant, cascading piano figures that evoke the image of falling confetti.

 

LCD Soundsystem

American Dream received critical acclaim from contemporary music critics. It was announced on January 5, 2016, the day after it was revealed that the band was reuniting after a disbandment lasting nearly five years. Released on September 1, 2017, by DFA and Columbia, it was the band’s first album in seven years. The album performed well commercially and became the band’s first number one album in the United States. At the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, the album was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album and “Tonite” won the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording. The album’s lyrics deal with depression, social issues, fear, and ending of friendship and love. Ryan Dombal of Pitchfork marked the album as “Best New Music”, said “The rebirth of LCD Soundsystem is marked by an extraordinary album obsessed with endings: of friendships, of love, of heroes, of a certain type of geeky fandom, and of the American dream itself”. Jordan Bassett of NME wrote: “The band retains the uncanny power to encapsulate a place and time. This is a cautious return, not a triumphant one – and that proves LCD Soundsystem are very 2017”

 

 

Classical Album

Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns

Cello Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 33- i. Allegro non troppo
Cello Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 33- ii. Menuet
Cello Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 33- iii. Finale
Cello Concerto No. 2, Op. 119 in D Minor- I – Allegro moderato e maestoso
Cello Concerto No. 2, Op. 119 in D Minor- II – Allegro non troppo
Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 22- I. Andante sostenuto
Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 22- II. Allegro scherzando
Piano Concerto No. 2 in G Minor, Op. 22- III. Presto
Africa, Fantaisie pour piano et orchestre, Op. 89
Wedding Cake, Op. 76

Jazz Album

john Scofield

A Go Go
Chank
Boozer
Southern Pacific
Jeep On 35
Kubrick
Green Tea
Hottentot
Chicken Dog
Deadzy

 

woman with bright neon make up and her eyes closed under blue light holding headset

electronic Album

lCD soundsystem

Oh Baby
Other Voices
I Used To
Change Yr Mind
How Do You Sleep
Tonite
Call The Police
American Dream
Emotional Haircut
Black Screen

 

Rock Album

Queens of the stone age

Keep Your Eyes Peeled
I Sat By The Ocean
The Vampyre Of Time And Memory
If I Had A Tail
My God Is The Sun
Kalopsia
Fairweather Friends
Smooth Sailing
I Appear Missing
…Like Clockwork

 

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in further issues we will continue to Bring you the music of Popular genres to listen, review and evaluate. issue #8 (coming soon) features Weezer, Oneohtrix Point Never (OPN), Paul Motian and Olivier Messiaen

NOTES

Sound quality is important and some streaming services will offer superior sound quality. We do encourage you to purchase albums from good online record stores. alternatively, stream the music of favoured artists from those better online streaming services.

Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns – Piano Concertos / Cello concertos – Labels : Warner Classics / RCA red Seal

John Scofield – a go Go – Label : Verve

lCD Soundsystem – American Dream – Label : DFA – Columbia

Queens of the Stone Age – ….like Clockwork – Label : Matador

 

It is helpful to research the artist, using sources like Wikipedia , Music Magazine Reviews (Pitchfork, Rolling stone, NME etc.,) Artist Websites, etc…

A synopsis of the life and music of this Issue’s featured artists appears below.

This Week’s Artists

John Scofield (born December 26, 1951) is an American guitarist and composer. His music blends jazz, jazz fusion, funk, blues, soul and rock. He first came to mainstream attention as part of the band of Miles Davis.

John Scofield

John Scofield was born in Dayton, Ohio before his family moved to Wilton, Connecticut Educated at the Berklee College of Music, Scofield left school to record with Chet Baker and Gerry Mulligan. He joined the Billy Cobham/George Duke Band soon afterwards and played, recorded, and toured with them for two years. He recorded with Charles Mingus in 1976 and replaced Pat Metheny in Gary Burton’s quartet. In 1976, Scofield signed with Enja, which released his first album, John Scofield, in 1977. In 1982, he joined Miles Davis, with whom he remained for three and a half years. Since leaving Miles Davis’s band, he has had an illustrious solo career and released several highly lauded albums.

 

His albums have spanned a variety of genres, but his distinctive playing style always makes it clear that Sco is the mastermind behind each album.His work frequently crosses into jam band and rock circles through collaborations with Medeski Martin & Wood, Phil Lesh (Grateful Dead), and John Mayer. With a discography of over 30 albums as a leader and 100+ as a sideman, his most acclaimed works include: A Go Go (1998): A landmark jazz-funk collaboration with Medeski Martin & Wood. Hand Jive (1994): Featuring saxophonist Eddie Harris. Past Present (2015) and Country for Old Men (2016): Both won Grammy Awards for Best Jazz Instrumental Album. In total, he has won three Grammys from nine nominations.

LCD Soundsystem is an American dance-punk revival band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002 by James Murphy, co-founder of DFA Records.

LCD soundsystem

James Murphy founded LCD Soundsystem in 2002 in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The “LCD” part of the band’s name stands for “Liquid Christmas Display” The band comprises Murphy (vocals, various instruments), Nancy Whang (synthesizer, keyboards, vocals), Pat Mahoney (drums), Tyler Pope (bass, guitar, synthesizer), Al Doyle (guitar, synthesizer, percussion), and Korey Richey (synthesizer, piano, percussion). The band began by recording and releasing multiple singles from 2002 to 2004, the first of which was “Losing My Edge”, one of their signature songs. This led up to the release of their 2005 self-titled debut studio album. It garnered critical acclaim and a Grammy Award nomination for Best Electronic/Dance Album.

In 2007, the band released their second studio album, Sound of Silver, to critical acclaim and another Grammy nomination for Best Electronic/Dance Album.In 2010, LCD Soundsystem released their third studio album, This Is Happening, which became their first top-ten album in the United States.In February 2011, the band posted a statement on its website announcing that it was disbanding following a large farewell concert at Madison Square Garden on April 2, 2011. The group later confirmed their reunion in 2016 and announced an expanded tour, including appearances at several high-profile music festivals, and released their fourth studio album, American Dream, in September 2017. The band has remained active.  in late 2024 and 2025, releasing a new single, “X-Ray Eyes,” and working on a fifth studio album between tour dates. They have also been holding residency shows in various cities, including London in June 2025

Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (9 October 1835 – 16 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic era.

Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns 

Saint-Saëns was a musical prodigy; he made his concert debut at the age of ten. After studying at the Paris Conservatoire, he followed a career as a church organist and served for 20 years as the organist at the Church of La Madeleine in Paris. After leaving this post he became a successful freelance pianist and composer, in demand in Europe and the Americas. He was a scholar of musical history, and remained committed to the structures worked out by earlier French composers. This brought him into conflict in his later years with composers of the impressionist and expressionist schools of music although there were neoclassical elements in his music, foreshadowing works by Stravinsky and Les Six, he was often regarded as a reactionary in the decades around the time of his death.

Saint-Saëns held only one teaching post, at the École Niedermeyer in Paris, and remained there for less than five years. It was nevertheless important in the development of French music: his students included Gabriel Fauré, among whose own later pupils was Maurice Ravel. Both of them were strongly influenced by Saint-Saëns, whom they revered as a genius. Beyond music, Saint-Saëns was an intellectual with published writings in astronomy, archaeology, mathematics, and philosophy. In 1908, he became the first major composer to write a dedicated score for a motion picture, L’assassinat du duc de Guise. 

Queens of the Stone Age is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1996. The band is a central pillar of the “stoner rock” and “desert rock” scenes, known for its riff-oriented, rhythmic sound and Homme’s distinct falsetto vocals. Blending hard rock, psychedelic, and blues influences with catchy melodies, evolving from heavier, riff-based sounds to more polished, radio-friendly tracks while maintaining their unique desert vibe. 

Queens of the Stone Age 

The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme shortly before he returned to his native Palm Desert, California. Homme has been the only constant member throughout multiple line-up changes; since 2013, the line-up has consisted of Homme, Troy Van Leeuwen (guitar, lap steel, keyboards, percussion, backing vocals), Michael Shuman (bass, keyboards, backing vocals), Dean Fertita (keyboards, guitar, percussion, backing vocals), and Jon Theodore (drums, percussion). Homme released Queens of the Stone Age’s self-titled debut album in 1998 on label Loosegroove Records. Homme played guitar and bass on the album , Alfredo Hernández on drums, and several other contributions by Chris Goss and Hutch. From this point forward, the band’s line-up would change frequently; by the time their second album was being recorded, Hernández had left the group to play in other bands. Released in 2000, Rated R featured many musicians The album garnered positive reviews and received a lot more attention than their debut. Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters frontman and former nirvana drummer, joined in late 2001 to record drums for the band’s third album, Songs for the Deaf which was a critical hit and was certified gold in 2003. a sort of loose concept album about the drive from Los Angeles to the Joshua Tree desert, and how the radio starts becoming weirder and darker, matching the changing scenery of your journey. It’s a great road trip album.

Era Vulgaris was the fifth studio album released on June 12, 2007, through Interscope Records, as their last album on the label. The inspiration for Era Vulgaris came from Homme’s daily drives through Hollywood. He described the record as “dark, hard, and electrical, sort of like a construction worker” and said “it’s like dirt, clearly seen”. Era Vulgaris displays influences from many different genres. The album departs from the softer, hollow-body guitar sound of their previous album Lullabies to Paralyze with heavy, crunchy guitars and some electronic influences. ‘The Observer’ review commented on the album’s change in direction, commenting that the band had “turned its back on the mainstream” and that the album was “uneasy and brooding” and “gripping stuff”. In late 2004, Homme, along with multi-instrumentalist Alain Johannes and remaining band members Van Leeuwen and Castillo recorded the Queens’ fourth studio album, Lullabies to Paralyze, the band’s first album to be released after bassist Nick Oliveri was fired from the band.  Songs on the album feature dark themes and witchcraft.

…Like Clockwork is the sixth studio album released on June 3, 2013, on Matador Records in the UK. …Like Clockwork has received critical acclaim. Villains was the seventh studio album The album received widely positive reviews and performed well commercially. Rolling Stone magazine described the album as “a little looser and more uptempo than their last release …Like Clockwork and “more carefree.”

In Times New Roman… is the eighth studio released on June 16, 2023, through Matador Records. It was the first QOTSA album to be produced by the band and not to feature any guests. Writing for Pitchfork, Zach Schonfeld called it the band’s “heaviest, angriest work since 2007’s underrated Era Vulgaris.”