ridicules our obsession with guns, while
"Embarrassed By You" lays our political
turmoil at the feet of white nationalist
politicians. Fans of the 1981 single "Ghost
Town" will be especially pleased by "Vote
For Me," with its cocktail party piano
groove and 2-Tone horns. If the remaining
Specials were especially stressed by the
making of their last proper album (More
Specials), they sound like they were over-
joyed making an album nearly 40 years
later. Encore is right for the times.
– John Vernon
8
THE SPECIALS
Encore
(UMe)
Longtime fans of groundbreaking 2-
Tone ska pioneers The Specials were
caught by surprise when the band
dropped the single "Vote For Me" late last
year. Though the Terry Hall fronted ver-
sion of the group had reformed in 2008,
their shows were powered exclusively by
nostalgia, dominated by hits from their
1979 Elvis Costello produced debut, and
1980 follow up **More Specials. It seems
the turmoil surrounding Brexit and the
45th U.S. President made it the right time
for remaining members Hall, Horace
Panter, and Lynval Golding to create new
music with a social message. In the last
decade, attrition took several former
members out of the line-up (Rodney Byers
and Neville Staples). Founder Jerry
Damners never re-joined the reboot, and
drummer John Bradbury died, so the
prospect of significant new music seemed
remote. **Encore is a surprisingly solid
follow-up to the band's catalog, in the
spirit of their sophomore album from the
Reagan-era. What's even more surprising
is it mines similar territory from Terry
Hall's post-Specials bands Fun Boy Three
and The Colourfield. Like their debut
album, the 2019 Specials reinterpret cov-
ers including "The Equals," "Black Skin
Blue Eyed Boys," which sounds like it
could have been pulled from The
Colourfield's R&B heavy Deception album
sessions. The remake of Fun Boy Three's
"The Lunatics" is especially poignant in
the backdrop of Theresa May and No Exit
Brexit, this time powered by Bacharach-
style pianos and Hall's haunting
vocal.Other song standouts are new
Specials originals: spoken word anthems
"B.L.M." and "10 Commandments," pow-
ered by guest vocalist/activist Saffiyah
Khan. Both are devastating anti-racists
anthems buoyed by a jazzy, rocksteady
beat. Anti-gun ditty "Blam Blam Fever"
oppression in the workplace and misdirec-
tion from public leadership in the age of
alternative facts. “Did you hear what the
bubblehead said today?,” sings Morse to a
soundtrack occasionally echoing Pink
Floyd and Genesis. “Truth is dead they
say.” Gillette and Hubauer join Morse as
different voices representing the chaos
within Joseph’s awakening mind. Portnoy
and George propel the euphorically-
charged title track as it surges with opti-
mism, revolution, and the hope of reconcil-
iation between father and son. Musically, it
splits the difference between the technical
flights of Kansas’ “Point of Know Return”
and the urgent pop harmonies of the
Raspberries. Joseph is tempted to turn
from the hard road in “Venture in Black,”
but gains the support of a faithful compan-
ion in the buoyant swing of “Hey Ho Let’s
Go” (an unlikely prog nod to punk kings
the Ramones). The headlong flight of
“Fighting With Destiny” is a musical tour
de force with all five band members spar-
ring, warring and interlocking as Joseph
faces his toughest trials and cosmic aban-
donment. It’s no wonder that the traveler
is distracted by the superficial ease of the
breezy “Vanity Fair.” However, Joseph ulti-
mately survives his trials and hears the
sweet sound of “Freedom Calling.”
Morse’s latest epic demands consider-
able attention at an hour and 45 minutes.
For patient ears, however, the album deliv-
ers its promised adventure as well as
escape.
Appearing 2/26 at Arcada Theatre,
St. Charles.
– Jeff Elbel
9
THE NEAL MORSE BAND
The Great Adventure
(Metal Blade)
Prolific purveyor of progressive rock
Neal Morse returns with the third outing
by The Neal Morse Band. After seven crit-
ically-acclaimed prog albums under his
own name (and more than a dozen pop
albums), the former Spock’s Beard front-
man has firmly returned to the band for-
mat and its inherent strength in numbers.
Longtime partner and ex-Dream
Theatre/current Winery Dogs drummer
Mike Portnoy makes a show of finesse
and force throughout The Great Adventure,
alongside thunder-fingered and melodic
bassist Randy George. Guitarist Eric
Gillette shreds through “Dark Melody”
and keyboardist Bill Hubauer makes criti-
cal contributions to songs including “A
Momentary Change,” establishing the
Neal Morse Band as a gang for the dura-
tion – not a collection of sidemen. Those
who thrilled to 2016’s expansive The
Similitude of a Dream and its unfinished
retelling of John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s
Progress will recall that it closed with the
telling lyric, “Let the great adventure now
begin.” Two and a half years later, this
ambitious double album ups the ante
musically and thematically, picking up
threads from the previous storyline and
carrying them in unexpected directions.
Instead of returning to the character of
Pilgrim on his journey from the city of
Destruction, Adventure guides an angrier
soul toward redemption. The perspective
of Pilgrim’s abandoned son Joseph is
established in “The Dream Isn’t Over”
and the hard-knock cynicism of
“Welcome to the World.” The music fuses
piano balladry, Zappa-esque intricate
lunacy, head-banging metal, classical
symphonic grandeur, pop melodicism,
jazz savvy, brainy prog flourishes, and
24 illinoisentertainer.com february 2019
“Hallo Spaceboy” and breakbeat-infused
“Little Wonder,” chugging “Station to
Station,” and wistful crooner “Wild is the
Wind.” “I’d just written this one this first
time I played Glastonbury in 1971,” Bowie
says as pianist Mike Garson plays the jazz-
infused chords introducing “Changes.”
This newly-released collection presents all
21 favorites from the festival for the first
time. The BBC was allowed initially only to
air the first few songs and the final encore
but thankfully left the cameras running for
the set’s full two hours. Bowie’s band of
veteran collaborators had only a trio of
warm-up shows under their belts before
the massive gig but ran like a well-oiled
machine. Only “All the Young Dudes”
could be described as a bit wobbly with a
few bum notes to mention. Garson shines
on “Life on Mars?” and cartwheels
through “Changes” alongside Gail Ann
Dorsey’s nimble bass. Guitarist Earl Slick
lashes into the snarling licks of “Rebel
Rebel,” “Ziggy Stardust,” and the jagged
“Stay.” Dorsey anchors the groove of
“Golden Years,” and shares the limelight
with Bowie during “Under Pressure,”
singing Freddie Mercury’s part. Guitarist
Mark Plati jangles through “Starman” and
plays taut funk during “Stay,” providing
the necessary underpinning for Slick’s gui-
tar heroics. Drummer Sterling Campbell
keeps the pocket steady and soulful during
the funky “Fame,” and pushes the dark
pop of “China Girl” with muscular force.
Although Bowie claims at one point to be
“very fearful” due to a recent bout of
laryngitis, he’s masterfully at ease with the
crowd. “Oh, Glastonbury,” he says charm-
ingly while prowling the stage in his ele-
gant Alexander McQueen-designed frock
coat. “You’ve got a very lucky face, all of
you.” To spoil the surprise ending, Bowie
gathers strength from the very supportive
crowd and maintains his voice for the
duration. Although the set stands up well
on a 3LP set as an audio-only document,
fans will need the CD package to get the
DVD of Bowie reclaiming his legacy while
pushing into the future and pointing the
way toward Heathen and Reality. Befitting
Bowie as the total artist and consummate
performer, the visual element is essential.
– Jeff Elbel
9
DAVID BOWIE
Glastonbury 2000
(Rhino)
Throughout the ‘90s, David Bowie
focused upon his impulse to create and
perform new material, without relying
upon his deep catalog of hits. He produced
challenging work including 1995’s Outside
and 1997’s Earthling that echoed the fear-
lessness that had led to critically-heralded
triumphs like 1977’s Low. By 2000, Bowie
was ready to give his broader fanbase a bit
more of what they wanted, and he brought
it to his first headlining slot at England’s
Glastonbury Festival in nearly 30 years.
“Big, well-known songs shall litter the field
at Glastonbury,” he had promised.
Although Bowie wasn’t ready to re-
embrace a couple of his biggest songs like
“Major Tom” (“I can’t face doing that one
again yet,” he wrote in his diary), he deliv-
ered a pile of classics including “Life on
Mars?,” “Fame,” “Let’s Dance” and
“Ashes to Ashes” alongside a clutch of
adventurous quirks including “Absolute
Beginners” (Bowie cites it as a favorite
from his 80s output), the hard-edged
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