It's not simple luck that Tower of Power is celebrating 40 years as a band. It's more like a freakin' miracle.
Kleos is 14 tracks of beautiful rock music, coasting seamlessly from songs such as "Circe" and "Dove in the Clefts of Rock," reminiscent of Muse, Coldplay and the Velvet Teen, to "That's Just Me" and "Slip Into the Sea," which evoke the sounds of Hot Hot Heat, the Bravery and All American Rejects.
Frankly, between his rapid delivery of music history, his mind that seems to operate faster than his mouth and his penchant for breaking into 19th-century songs, the passer-by would think Phil Alvin is a certified loon. But really, he has built himself into a musicologist through playing and mastering America's early styles and now exists at a level of musical awareness that seems baffling to the lay ear.
No Child Left Behind nearly ushered music education out of existence, and the negative effects emerged quickly. But the nonprofit organization is pushing back, armed with a new CD, California Music Project Vol. 1., featuring Jack Johnson, Beck, Dwight Yoakam and Ben Harper.
One million My Chemical Romance fans can't be wrong. The same could be said for the 1 million MCR haters.
