New Music: The Rolling Stones, The Fixx, The Legion of Decency

Terrific releases from The Rolling Stones, The Fixx and The Legion of Decency make for a pretty stellar crop of music library essential titles to add to any music lover's collection. 

Artist: The Rolling Stones

Title: Licked Live In NYC (Mercury Studios)

You might like if you enjoy: The Rolling Stones, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards 

Tell me more: Originally released in 2003 as an HBO special and as part of the Four Flicks package, The Rolling Stones' outstanding Licked Live In NYC has been fully restored and remastered with bonus material that shines a light on the legendary band's 40th Anniversary Tour; the legendary tour included 117 shows and was noteworthy for including the group's first-ever concert in Hong Kong. This title captures the Stones' Madison Square Garden show staged in January 2003; standout versions performed by the band include a fiery "Start Me Up," the melodic Mick Jagger track "Don't Stop," lively "Happy" featuring Keith Richards on lead vocals, magic "Gimme Shelter" (with Lisa Fischer trading vocals with Jagger), rowdy "You Got Me Rocking" and "Honky Tonk Woman" (the latter with guest Sheryl Crow) and fiery "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll" and "Brown Sugar." The DVD+2CD version (reviewed in this column) looks and sounds terrific; it includes previously-unreleased performances of "Start Me Up," "Tumbling Dice," "Gimme Shelter" and "Sympathy For The Devil," along with three bonus performances from Amsterdam and rehearsal footage. Licked Live In NYC is also available via SD Blu-ray+2CD (wit includes the additional 51-minute documentary "Tip Of The Tongue"), as a standalone 2CD and 3LP. Information: rollingstones.com.  

Artist: The Fixx

Title: Every Five Seconds (BFD)

You might like if you enjoy: Simple Minds, U2, David Bowie

Tell me more: Before the release of Every Five Seconds on June 3, it had been a full decade since The Fixx had issued a new studio album (2012's wonderful Beautiful Friction). The great news for fans of top-tier alternative rock is that the quintet's latest effort builds on a marvelous discography stretching back to their 1982 debut Shuttered Room. Lead singer Cy Curnin's voice is still a wonder, and it is amazing that the band's long-time lineup is fully intact (lead guitarist Jamie West-Oram, bassist Dan K. Brown, keyboardist Rupert Greenall, drummer Adam Woods). The top-tier material includes the topical rocker "A Life Survived," funk-tinged "Closer," thought-provoking sortie "Wake Up," luxurious "Suspended In Make Believe," dazzling "Spell" and the ambitious styles-defying "Lonely As A Lighthouse" — the latter showcasing West-Oram's amazing fret work. Information: TheFixx.com.

Artist: The Legion of Decency

Title: Deep Lines Among The Shallows (Legion Recordings)

You might like if you enjoy: Dawes, Old 97's, Rhett Miller

Tell me more: Deep Lines Among The Shallows is the wonderful full-length album from Inland Empire-based The Legion of Decency. An album of immense depth, warmth and undeniable beauty, singer-songwriter-guitarist Michael Tamony's rich Americana guided soundscape is bolstered by a talented cast of players and singers who bring the mix of literate and poetic originals fully to life. Compelling songs on Side A include the poignant opener "Sometimes," the genuinely affecting "Grandma's Sound," rollicking "We Are Giant" and immersive title track. The countrified "I Do," lovely "Julietta," and reflective closer "Shine a Light" are among the wonderful cuts on Side B of the album. Information: TheLegionOfDecency.com.  

Robert Kinsler

The Fixx soars in Coach House return

Cy Curnin, pictured here performing at The Coach House in July 2012, led the Fixx in a magnificent return to the venue on July 19, 2013. Photo: Bob Steshetz

Although it has been 30 years since the release of their trailblazing Reach the Beach album, the Fixx is one of the few groups to emerge in the 1980s whose artistry remains fully intact.
The evidence played itself out in brilliant fashion when the British rock quintet performed a flawless 18-song set before a capacity crowd at The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano on Friday night, July 19.

Featuring songs from 1983's Reach the Beach and 2012's sterling Beautiful Friction (and a few choice hits off 1982's Shuttered Room and 1984's Phantoms), this was a concert that provided plenty of opportunities for nostalgia seekers to sing and clap along, but it was also a night for more discerning listeners to join the band for an even more abounding experience celebrating the musical and lyrical layers that have long separated The Fixx from both their contemporaries and any number of musical descendants.

Like several of their fellow early '80s pioneers (U2 and R.E.M. immediately come to mind),  time has been kind to the band's sound. Confident in their latest songs, the Fixx opened with a powerful string of cuts pulled from last year's Beautiful Friction.  The opener "Anyone Else" found Rupert Greenall's keyboard textures coating Cy Curnin's outstanding vocal delivery while the third offering, "Take a Risk," proved to be a potent riff rocker with Jamie West-Oram's masterful fret work featured. The performance of Beautiful Friction's title track was nuanced with the full band playing the lush arrangement before a more fiery and forceful take on their "What God."

The Fixx didn't take a by-the-numbers approach when playing their classics that came later; "Less Cities, More Moving People" boasted some of the richly-ornate keyboard-meets-guitar layers that are a trademark of the outfit. But then that approach was foreshadowed on "Outside" back in 1983, played this night with Curnin still fully in command of a falsetto that brought chills with its beauty.

An infectious "One Thing Leads to Another," haunting "Stand or Fall" and extended "Saved by Zero" filled the regular set with additional highlights. Throughout the night, Curnin was ever a personable and engaging frontman.

A strong encore found the Fixx playing a funk-tinged  "Deeper and Deeper," an explosive "Shaman" (another gem off Beautiful Friction) and ultimately a charged "Red Skies" where the joyful audience sang with almost as much power as the outstanding cast of players on the stage in front of them. 

The memorable night left me hoping that I would get to see the Fixx again soon, and that the group (which also features an outstanding rhythm section courtesy of bassist Dan K. Brown and drummer Adam Woods) will release new music soon. A concert DVD release would be nice too.

Here is a video featuring the Fixx performing "Red Skies" at The Coach House. The audio quality is very good:

The Fixx set to return to The Coach House on Friday, July 19th

As many of my long-time readers know, one of my favorite bands to emerge in the 1980s is The Fixx. What many may not know is that the British band remains a potent live act at the height of its artistic powers. Those of you who live here in Southern California should try to catch the rock quintet when they perform at Saint Rocke in Hermosa Beach tonight (July 18) or at The Coach House in San Juan Capistrano on Friday, July 19. Here is the preview I wrote about The Fixx that appeared in The Orange County Register on July 13, 2012 (just more than a year ago) around the time of the release of Beautiful Friction, the most recent Fixx studio album.

The Fixx returns as resonant as ever with new disc and tour kicking off at the Coach House

The Fixx

With the world mired in an ongoing financial crisis, it's little surprise that the Fixx, '80s-spawned rockers who have always featured material revolving around political topics, would return in 2012 fueled by such matters, leading the quintet to create one of its best-ever albums, Beautiful Friction.


Set for release next week by Kirtland Records, the disc is the Fixx' first studio album since 2003's Want That Life. The British band launches a U.S. tour in support of it with a headlining concert Wednesday, July 18, 2012, at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano, bringing the group back to O.C. after a memorable performance at Jack's 5th Show at Irvine's Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in September 2010.

Beautiful Friction is the outfit's 10th assortment of new material overall and arrives 30 years after the release of their official debut, 1982's Shuttered Room, which established the Fixx stateside with the hits “Stand or Fall” and “Red Skies.”

Anyone who listens to those staples of the New Wave era – or any of their other singles from back in the day, like “Saved by Zero,” “Are We Ourselves,” “One Thing Leads to Another” and “Deeper and Deeper” – knows that the members of the Fixx have worn their politics on their collective sleeve from the start. Indeed, the band's “How Much Is Enough?” (which peaked at No. 35 on Billboard's Hot 100 back in late 1991) could well be a fight song for the Occupy Wall Street movement decades later.

“The last few years we were doing a lot of live shows and just didn't feel the binge to put new music out," says singer Cy Curnin, "and then all of a sudden, about three or four years ago, things went pear-shaped out there in society, and that's what I feed on (as a songwriter). There was a financial crisis and there were people starting to ask big questions and politicians didn't seem so squeaky-clean.”

What is so remarkable about the Fixx is not only that its original lineup – including guitarist Jamie West-Oram, keyboardist Rupert Greenall, drummer Adam Woods and bassist Dan K. Brown – is impressively still together, but also how relevant the group's songs sound today.

When they performed the 1988 hit “Driven Out” at Verizon in 2010, casual fans might have mistaken that burning track's environmental-minded lyrics for those of a freshly-penned songs: “Driven out by thieves / I watch them pillage the planet / Fueled by a fattening greed / Trees fall to the hatchet.”

Curnin is proud his material has held up, although he wishes more of the problems he's addressed over the years would have been solved by now.

“Each artist or each writer has their own slant on things. Mine is that social backdrop of the mechanics of how we surrender our own dream-time to be part of a system that is managed by people that who aren't as godlike as they should be,” he said by phone from London, where the band was preparing for this coming tour.

“The relevance (of Fixx songs) has stayed there because it's never been sorted out, and it's an ongoing thing whenever you have a credit-based system and you have politicians (serving) on multiple terms. I really believe in one-term elections and flat tax rates and that type of stuff.”

Beautiful Friction features a wealth of songs that showcase the band's lyrical bite along with other well-crafted originals that blend rich textures and melodic elements set around Curnin's distinctive tenor. The driving anthem “Anyone Else,” luxuriant “Second Time Around” and blistering “What God?” are among the highlights from an 11-cut album written and recorded over a span of about three years.

The Fixx returning to The Coach House on Saturday, December 29

Back in early summer, I had the chance to interview Cy Curnin of The Fixx leading up to the band's July 18, 2012 performance at The Coach House. Well now, thankfully, the band will be returning to perform a show tomorrow night, Saturday, Dec. 29. The concert begins at 8 p.m. For more details, call the venue at 949-496-8930 or visit the venue's Web site at http://www.thecoachhouse.com/.

Here is a reposting of my original article that ran on The Orange County Register site for those interested in catching the band when they perform in San Juan Capistrano tomorrow.

The Fixx returns to The Coach House on Dec. 29, 2012.

The Fixx returns as resonant as ever with new disc and tour kicking off at The Coach House

July 13, 2012

With the world mired in an ongoing financial crisis, it’s little surprise that the Fixx, ’80s-spawned rockers who have always featured material revolving around political topics, would return in 2012 fueled by such matters, leading the quintet to create one of its best-ever albums, Beautiful Friction.



Set for release next week by Kirtland Records, the disc is the Fixx’ first studio album since 2003’s Want That Life. The British band launches a U.S. tour in support of it with a headlining concert Wednesday, July 18, at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano, bringing the group back to O.C. after a memorable performance at Jack’s 5th Show at Irvine’s Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in September 2010. AS I NOTED ABOVE, THE FIXX RETURNS TO THE COACH HOUSE ON SATURDAY, DEC. 29, 2012.


Beautiful Friction is the outfit’s 10th assortment of new material overall and arrives 30 years after the release of their official debut, 1982’s Shuttered Room, which established the Fixx stateside with the hits “Stand or Fall” and “Red Skies.”


Anyone who listens to those staples of the New Wave era – or any of their other singles from back in the day, like “Saved by Zero,” “Are We Ourselves,” “One Thing Leads to Another” and “Deeper and Deeper” – knows that the members of the Fixx have worn their politics on their collective sleeve from the start. Indeed, the band’s “How Much Is Enough?” (which peaked at No. 35 on Billboard’s Hot 100 back in late 1991) could well be a fight song for the Occupy Wall Street movement decades later.


“The last few years we were doing a lot of live shows and just didn’t feel the binge to put new music out,” says singer Cy Curnin, “and then all of a sudden, about three or four years ago, things went pear-shaped out there in society, and that’s what I feed on (as a songwriter). There was a financial crisis and there were people starting to ask big questions and politicians didn’t seem so squeaky-clean.”

Curnin is proud his material has held up, although he wishes more of the problems he’s addressed over the years would have been solved by now.


“Each artist or each writer has their own slant on things. Mine is that social backdrop of the mechanics of how we surrender our own dream-time to be part of a system that is managed by people that who aren’t as godlike as they should be,” he said by phone from London, where the band was preparing for this coming tour.

“We didn’t know it would work out as well as it did because we have different lives now, we have children,” Curnin explained of the process. “We have to book certain weekends together. Like once a month we would work for four days and when we would work we would come up with three or four songs. And after the time when we would break up and go back to our lives, if the song stayed with you, it was a good sign; if it didn’t stay with you, it would fall apart.”



Curnin says everyone in the Fixx is grateful to still be playing together after so many years.

“I’ll tell you what: We’re actually enjoying it more than ever. Because when we turn around on stage and we catch each other’s eyes we know we’re still (expletive) doing it! And still getting the same buzz. It’s almost like wine. Wine improves in the bottle and it gets better with age, and I think music does, too.



“It’s only the fact that the industry in music – “out with the old, in with the new” – it wasn’t designed to let people in on the fact that you could grow older with an artist and this artist was going to get better. That’s what we discovered, because we’re still doing it and enjoying it … that is where your wisdom comes through, you know?”


Curnin acknowledges that much of the power of the Fixx lies in its relationship with fans as well as each other.


“You know what it is – it’s really a deep friendship. We know how to argue with each other. In fact, it’s not arguing anymore – it’s just adding to the soup and getting the ingredients right. We do genuinely love each other like brothers. We respect each other like elders. And yet we’ve been through so much together, there are so many unsaid (things). We only need a wink and a nod and it says so much in this band.”

The Fixx performs timeless classic and new material at the Coach House




Cy Curnin led the Fixx throughout a mighty 90-minute performance at the Coach House on July 18, 2012.

  There is little doubt that lovers of ‘80s music were in the right place if they were at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano on Wednesday night (July 18, 2012). Not only did the Fixx headline, but both show openers boasted sounds in sync with the popular modern rock sounds of that decade during their respective sets.


The Fixx’ best songs from the ‘80s and early ‘90s retain their relevance and power decades after their original release – and what’s more – the quintet’s performance of those songs on the opening night of its U.S. tour reflected an outfit whose musical powers remain fully intact.

Jamie West-Oram displayed his talents.

After opening with “Red Skies,” singer Cy Curnin noted “It’s always good to be back at the Coach House, and explained that the group was going to be featuring songs off their new album Beautiful Friction (released July 17) and then play early material after that. Discerning listeners were then treated to a number of the outstanding songs from Beautiful Friction, including the fiery “Anyone Else” (a song inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement) which showcased Curnin’s still-mighty voice and guitarist Jamie West-Oram’s dazzling fret work. The hypnotic “Just Before Dawn” featured a grooving bass line from Dan K. Brown that was only overshadowed with the song’s grand finale, with West-Oram again demonstrating his artful approach with power and flair.

Later, the band rocked with “Take a Risk,” a powerful blues-rocker that somehow flowed perfectly into the aptly-titled “Beautiful Friction.”

Fixx fans seemed genuinely impressed with the new material, but obviously couldn’t wait to hear old favorites. The last half of the show offered commanding versions of the group’s heavyweight material, including a potent “Driven Out,” dance-minded “One Thing Leads to Another” and pulsating “Stand Or Fall,” the latter featuring keyboardist Rupert Greenall’s outstanding playing. "Saved by Zero" was also very powerful, with Curnin and West-Oram positioned at the front of the stage together as an extended version of the song came to a fiery and rocking close. It was a perfect finish to the regular set.

The encore yielded even more hits, with the Fixx closing out with the crowd on its feet throughout the heavy grooves of “Deeper and Deeper,” “Are We Ourselves?” (complete with Curnin acting out many of the song’s lyrics with a graceful use of his hands) and an extended take on “Secret Separation.”

Greg Craycraft of the Reflexx.

The Reflexx is one of Southern California’s best (and best known) ‘80s tribute bands and demonstrated why during an energetic 35-minute set. The talented trio (singer-guitarist Greg Craycraft, keyboardist Alex Medina and drummer Russ Simms) was able to deliver mostly-faithful versions of well-known hits but do so in a way where the songs were embedded with the energy of a modern rock outfit. In fact, the group’s rendering of “I Ran (So Far Away)” bested the version I saw Flock of Seagulls perform a few years back, and an even stronger version of Simple Minds’ “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” had several concertgoers on their feet dancing and many more singing along. Visit the band's official Web site by clicking here.

Opening the night, Orange County’s own Hyena Motorcade performed a 30-minute set that definitely recalled a Gothic rock sound positioned somewhere between the Psychedelic Furs and early Cure. The quartet didn’t provide much dynamic range in each song so that even when a tune would begin with a driving beat and interesting guitar work, it would ultimately lose power as it went along.
 
A special big thanks to Bob Steshetz for the use of the wonderful photos he took last night. Check out his photography and writing at his official Bob By Request site here.

The Fixx returns as resonant as ever

The Fixx - singer Cy Curnin (top center) says the Fixx has stayed together for more than 30 years because "it's really a deep friendship. We know how to argue with each other."

With the world mired in an ongoing financial crisis, it’s little surprise that the Fixx, ’80s-spawned rockers who have always featured material revolving around political topics, would return in 2012 fueled by such matters, leading the quintet to create one of its best-ever albums, Beautiful Friction.


Set for release on Tuesday (July 17, 2012) by Kirtland Records, the disc is the Fixx’ first studio album since 2003’s Want That Life. The British band launches a U.S. tour in support of it with a headlining concert Wednesday, July 18, at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano, bringing the group back to O.C. after a memorable performance at Jack’s 5th Show at Irvine’s Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in September 2010.


Beautiful Friction is the outfit’s 10th assortment of new material overall and arrives 30 years after the release of their official debut, 1982’s Shuttered Room, which established the Fixx stateside with the hits “Stand or Fall” and “Red Skies.”


Anyone who listens to those staples of the New Wave era – or any of their other singles from back in the day, like “Saved by Zero,” “Are We Ourselves,” “One Thing Leads to Another” and “Deeper and Deeper” – knows that the members of the Fixx have worn their politics on their collective sleeve from the start. Indeed, the band’s “How Much Is Enough?” (which peaked at No. 35 on Billboard’s Hot 100 back in late 1991) could well be a fight song for the Occupy Wall Street movement decades later.



“The last few years we were doing a lot of live shows and just didn’t feel the binge to put new music out,” says singer Cy Curnin, “and then all of a sudden, about three or four years ago, things went pear-shaped out there in society, and that’s what I feed on (as a songwriter). There was a financial crisis and there were people starting to ask big questions and politicians didn’t seem so squeaky-clean.”


What is so remarkable about the Fixx is not only that its original lineup – including guitarist Jamie West-Oram, keyboardist Rupert Greenall, drummer Adam Woods and bassist Dan K. Brown – is impressively still together, but also how relevant the group’s songs sound today.



When they performed the 1988 hit “Driven Out” at Verizon in 2010, casual fans might have mistaken that burning track’s environmental-minded lyrics for those of a freshly-penned songs: “Driven out by thieves / I watch them pillage the planet / Fueled by a fattening greed / Trees fall to the hatchet.”


Curnin is proud his material has held up, although he wishes more of the problems he’s addressed over the years would have been solved by now.


“Each artist or each writer has their own slant on things. Mine is that social backdrop of the mechanics of how we surrender our own dream-time to be part of a system that is managed by people that who aren’t as godlike as they should be,” he said by phone from London, where the band was preparing for this coming tour.

“The relevance (of Fixx songs) has stayed there because it’s never been sorted out, and it’s an ongoing thing whenever you have a credit-based system and you have politicians (serving) on multiple terms. I really believe in one-term elections and flat tax rates and that type of stuff.”

Beautiful Friction features a wealth of songs that showcase the band’s lyrical bite along with other well-crafted originals that blend rich textures and melodic elements set around Curnin’s distinctive tenor. The driving anthem “Anyone Else,” luxuriant “Second Time Around” and blistering “What God?” are among the highlights from an 11-cut album written and recorded over a span of about three years.


“We didn’t know it would work out as well as it did because we have different lives now, we have children,” Curnin explained of the process. “We have to book certain weekends together. Like once a month we would work for four days and when we would work we would come up with three or four songs. And after the time when we would break up and go back to our lives, if the song stayed with you, it was a good sign; if it didn’t stay with you, it would fall apart.”



Curnin says everyone in the Fixx is grateful to still be playing together after so many years.


“I’ll tell you what: We’re actually enjoying it more than ever. Because when we turn around on stage and we catch each other’s eyes we know we’re still (expletive) doing it! And still getting the same buzz. It’s almost like wine. Wine improves in the bottle and it gets better with age, and I think music does, too.


“It’s only the fact that the industry in music – “out with the old, in with the new” – it wasn’t designed to let people in on the fact that you could grow older with an artist and this artist was going to get better. That’s what we discovered, because we’re still doing it and enjoying it … that is where your wisdom comes through, you know?”


Curnin acknowledges that much of the power of the Fixx lies in its relationship with fans as well as each other.


“You know what it is – it’s really a deep friendship. We know how to argue with each other. In fact, it’s not arguing anymore – it’s just adding to the soup and getting the ingredients right. We do genuinely love each other like brothers. We respect each other like elders. And yet we’ve been through so much together, there are so many unsaid (things). We only need a wink and a nod and it says so much in this band.”


The Fixx, with opening acts the Reflexx and Hyena Motorcade, play Wednesday, July 18, at the Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, in San Juan Capistrano. Tickets are $20. Also catch the band July 19 at Brixton in Redondo Beach and July 21 in L.A.’s Pershing Square.