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Michael Perlowin Presents Unique-sounding Classical Music Inspired by Spain

Mar 31, 2007 Classic Rock

Michael Perlowin breaks new ground with innovative and enjoyable music performed primarily and surprisingly on the pedal steel guitar.

As with his forays into the world of Debussy, Stravinsky and Broadway with his Firebird Suite and West Side Story albums, Michael Perlowin is again shattering the stereotype of the pedal steel guitar as a country-and-western-only instrument. In his new album, Spanish Steel, he presents 20 tracks from or about Spain, featuring works by Manuel de Falla, Isaac Albéniz, Joaquín Rodrigo, Julio Martinez Oyanguren, and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.

This new album sees Perlowin continuing to alternate between the use of the pedal steel as both a featured and ensemble instrument. However, this CD features Perlowin’s guitar work more than his previous outings, as the guitar is such an integral part of Spanish music. It is fair to say that this is not so much a “pedal steel guitar album” as it is an album of music in which the steel is predominantly featured for its unique expressive sound.

Perlowin, a veteran guitarist of the folk and rock music scene around L.A., became enamored of the pedal steel guitar after unexpectedly finding himself working on a country and western band during the mid-70s. His infatuation blossomed into an all-consuming love affair, an intensely passionate obsession that continues to this day. Perlowin jokingly calls himself a “steel-aholic,” and adds that the intricacies and mysteries of the instrument cause most other players to feel the same way.

As a working guitarist, Perlowin had played just about every type of popular music, from standards, to folk, rock, country, blues, reggae and even disco. Playing pedal steel guitar, however, Perlowin found he was unhappy when confined to country and western music. He began playing the steel with musicians from various genres, including an all instrumental experimental music band, and a blues rock band ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkSnoeTWR4I ).

Eventually, it was the world of classical music that attracted Perlowin’s interest. A recording of Debussy’s “The Maid With the Flaxen Hair” by jazz guitarist Johnny Smith introduced him to the world of literate music. Perlowin explains, “As soon as I heard this piece, I realized that this was what I wanted to play.” Perlowin’s own recording of the piece, which clearly shows Smith’s influence, can be heard on his first classical pedal steel album Firebird Suite.

“Everyone who plays classical music should be required to listen to this recording,” said Mark Laycock, Music Director, Orchestra London, The Princeton Chamber Symphony and Guest Conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra and Indianapolis Symphony. “Mike Perlowin is a musical genius who I am proud to know and learn from, and honored to have for a friend. I love this instrument, and this music and the beauty of these sounds delights my soul.”

Perlowin had been marginally exposed to classical music when he was young, and has no formal musical or production training. Perlowin’s second album, West Side Story, shows his growth not as a player, since he had already mastered the instrument, but as a producer, arranger, and recording engineer.

However, it is with this third album that his mastery of the recording studio blossomed to match his talents as a virtuoso musician. On Spanish Steel, Dave Beyer played drums and percussion, while Bill Watkins contributed timpani samples to complement Perlowin on pedal and lap steel guitars, electric and acoustic guitars, fretted and fretless basses, sitar, mandolin, mandocello, 5-string banjo, autoharp and additional percussion.

Spanish Steel is a totally unique and original album fulfilling Perlowin’s goal of showing the beauty and expressiveness of the pedal steel guitar. Replete with fascinating liner notes, it is the best example to date of the depths of Perlowin’s enormous talent. Find it along with his other albums at CDBaby.com, SteelGuitarMusic.com, Amazon.com; for reviews and images visit his artist website at http://www.mikeperlowin.com

TRACK LIST:

Michael Perlowin, SPANISH STEEL: Music from Spain by Manuel de Falla, Joaquín Rodrigo, Isaac Albéniz and others.

El Amour Brujo (Manuel de Falla)
1. Introduccion Y Escena (0:30)
2. En La Cueva (1:46)
3. Cancion Del Amor Dolido (1:25)
4. Danze Del Terror (2:03)
5. El Circulo Magico (2:45)
6. Danza Ritual Del Fuego (3:52)
7. Escena (1:00)
8. Cancion Del Fuego Fatuo (1:21)
9. Pantmima (4:14)
10. Danza Del Juego De Amor (2:23)
11. Las Campanas Del Amanecer (1:18)

Asturias (Isaak Albéniz)
12. Asturias (Leyenda) (5:43)

Conceirto Andeluz for 4 guitars (Joaquín Rodrigo).
13. Conceirto Andeluz for 4 guitars- Third Movement ( 7:05)

Fantasia Inca (Julio Martinez Oyanguren)
14. Fantasia Inca (3:12)

Capriccio Espagnol (Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov)
15. Alborada (1:15)
16. Variazioni (4:20)
17. Alborada (1:17)
18. Scena (2:16)
19. Canto Gatano (2:22)
20. Fandango Asturiano (3:38)

Tags: Classical, Inspired, Michael, Music, Perlowin, Presents, Spain, Uniquesounding

Progressive Rock Bands That Inspired the World

Feb 9, 2012 Rock Bands

Progressive rock appeared in the late 1960s when rock artists wanted to break down the barriers of radio formatted pop and rock and progress this music genre to a place where it could achieve a more sophisticated sound, similar to that of classical music or jazz. Progressive rock is very hard to define in one conclusive way and we have progressive rock bands to prove that. Some of the most important bands of the 70s that defined this rock form did not have the same sound.

Psychedelic music is believed to be the starting point of progressive rock. Some people also believe that bands like The Beatles contributed to the progressive rock movement. However, the two progressive rock bands that most people see as being the first of this new- found genre were King Crimson and Yes. These progressive rock bands appeared at the end of the 1960s and although the first band was attributed to hard progressive rock sub- genre and the second to symphonic rock, they were both catalogued as progressive rock bands, as their sound was unique and more sophisticated. Genesis is yet another rock band that aspired to progressive rock. Their third progressive rock album set things straight for this band. They were a symphonic rock band and thus a progressive rock band.

Great Britain was the first country that started the progressive rock movement, but Italy was not far behind either. Banco Del Mutuo Soccorco and Premiata Forneria Marconi were progressive rock bands that led the way for all rock bands all over Europe to progress and define this rock genre. As far as the progressive rock movement is concerned, these two European countries were the ones that opened all doors and invited all rock bands to evolve and give the world great progressive rock albums. However, Great Britain is still the top promoter of progressive rock bands, with Caravan, another progressive rock band from this country, being the one that defined the third sub- genre of progressive rock: Canterbury. So, at the end of the 1960s, progressive rock bands established three sub- genres: hard prog, symphonic and Canterbury.

The 1970s represented the crowning of progressive rock as a genre and some of the greatest progressive rock albums were released in this decade. Jethro Tull’s “Thick as a brick” or Rush’s “2112” are only two of the most appreciated progressive rock albums released in the 70s. Moreover, this decade brought another ten sub- genres of progressive rock to life, and many progressive rock bands came forth in this period. As if progressive rock was not complicated enough, art folk, classical prog, folk prog, ambient, Rio, pomp prog, jazz fusion, electronic, Zeuhl and krautrock were listed as sub- genres of the 60s rock genre.

In the next two decades, progressive rock did not progress as much as it had up to that moment. In the 80s, it was dethroned by the punk movement and progressive rock bands chose to give birth to another sub- genre: neo progressive. There were few progressive rock albums released in the 80s, some of the most prolific ones being Rush’s “Moving Pictures” or Fate’s Warning’s “No Exit”. Progressive metal rock was also listed as a sub- genre in this period. The 1990s were dominated by the development of metal prog, through Dream Theatre. This decade is mainly characterized by the revival of the progressive scene of the seventies.

For more resources about Progressive rock bands or even about progressive rock albums please review this web page http://tormanmaxt.com

Tags: Bands, Inspired, Progressive, Rock, World