Pino Forastiere Gives a Guitar class From 1 to 8 with Echoes February CD of the Month Hear Forastiere‘s From 1 to 8 featured on Echoes Monday February 6 Most instrumental musicians name their songs after they’re written, but on his new CD, From 1 to 8, Italian guitarist Pino Forastiere skips that exercise entirely.…
Reviews & Commentary
HAP-HAP-HAP-HAP-PY-PY-PY-PY Birthday Philip Glass
Philip Glass turns 75 Do you remember the first time you heard Philip Glass? It’s something that’s pretty hard to forget. For me it was Music with Changing Parts, a double LP released on the Chatham Square label in 1973. I heard it in 1974 at WXPN where it was on the essential listening list…
Reviews & Commentary
Revenge of the Oscars-Take That Reznor
The Oscars take their revenge this year on Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross for winning the Music (Original Score) category with their innovative and beautiful score to The Social Network. This year, no electronics, no creative and emotional use of sound, nothing that might for a moment be considered contemporary. Instead, Oscar whore (and I…
Reviews & Commentary
Tangerine Dream Live at Moogfest
Is It Safe To Listen To Tangerine Dream Again? This might come a bit late but I’ve come across very little coverage about it since Moogfest 2011 at the end of October. Tangerine Dream headlined the festival and did a 2 hour show. Like many fans, I’ve become a bit inurred to the band. You…
Reviews & Commentary
McCartney does Bennett
Do I really need Paul McCartney singing the music from the Ratpack generation? Sometimes I think it’s a sign of my growing lack of maturity that I can still never completely relate to the music my parents listened too. Intellectually I can dig Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Mel Torme, and I actually like Tony…
Reviews & Commentary
Orbital Never Say Never
After supposedly calling it quits back in 2004 with the release of Blue Album, the U.K. electronica duo, Orbital are on the verge of completing the inevitable comeback they began back in 2008. A new album, Wonky, is set for April and they’ve already released a teaser single, a light, effervescent bit of alka-synth-pop called,…
Reviews & Commentary
Lola Dutronic Does Suicide (the band, not the act)
I came across this charming video of Lola Dutronic singing Suicide‘s “Keep Your Dreams.” It’s a long way from “Ghostrider” and “Frankie Teardrop.” John Diliberto ((( echoes )) .
Program Highlights
Darshan Ambient’s Other Life.
Most of the musicians you hear on Echoes lead double lives. Many have straight jobs. Others work in different capacities in the music industry as engineers, studio wonks or in working bands. Michael Allison records as Darshan Ambient and since the mid-1990s he’s been releasing atmsopheric albums of electronic music. His latest, Dream in Blue,…
Reviews & Commentary
Progressive Rock Returns WXPN 7-Hour Marathon
I’m just hours away from WXPN‘s Progressive Rock Marathon. I’ll be joining Dan Reed, Biff Kennedy and Star’s End pilot Chuck Van Zyl bringing Progressive rock to the airwaves of Philadelphia, Central PA and the world Saturday, January 7 from 10AM-5PM. Since the show is a special segment of XPN’s “Highs in the 70s,” it…
Living Room Concerts
Oster/Manring/Weingarten in Echoes Living Room
They call themselves Blue Eternity now, but we know them as trumpeter Jeff Oster, bassist Michael Manring, and electric slide guitarist Carl Weingarten. They are all familiar to listeners of Echoes. Michael Manring was a founder of the group Montreux, recorded many solo albums and was the house bassist for Windham Hill Records in the…