I think it's fair to say there have been quite a few comments on the forum about the sorry state of today's rock music and how classic rock devotees like myself can't find much new music that compares to the stuff we love from the era of the late 60's to the mid 70's.

For people like myself, that era was the golden age because it featured the high points of the British Invasion, psychedelic rock, hard rock, blues-rock, prog rock, country-rock and folk-rock.

I think it's possible that the music of that era may be making a real comeback.

Among my recent CD purhases are these albums, all released in the last few years:

Joe Bonamassa - Dust Bowl

Steve Earle - I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive

Jack White - Blunderbuss

Black Keys - El Camino

All of these are really, really good, maybe even great albums.  The styles of music range through hard-rock, blues-rock, country-rock, and folk-rock.  There is extremely high quality in the writing and in the musicianship.  There is genuine creativity and passion. 

Listening a group of albums like this all at once made the blood rush to my head and fostered the thought that maybe one of those cycles in music history is coming around-the one I've really been waiting for!   

 

This (possible) comeback of classic rock may have actually started a while ago.

In 2001, Blue Oyster Cult released an album called The Curse of the Hidden Mirror.  I read some quotes from the band about the album and they said that when they had completed it they realized that it was an album that would have fit in very well with their work from the early-mid 70's (when they were awesome).  And I think this is a fair statement.

In 2006 the Who released their first album in eons the only album with just Pete and Roger, called Endless Wire.  It's not an entirely satisfying album but it is interesting, and of particular note is the 10-track mini-opera 'Wire & Glass.'

The return of the concept album!

Here in my hometown of Halifax-Dartmouth artists like Joel Plaskett and Matt Mays have done concept albums.  Staying in Canada, Sam Roberts did a concept album called Chemical City.  Roberts has a very 60's-70's type sound.

The Steve Earle album I mentioned above is a concept album that goes one step further - it's the soundtrack for a novel of the same name written by the multi-talented Earle.

 

In the hard rock category, we have Slash's self-titled 2010 album, which featued guest singers like Ozzy, Lemmy, Iggy, Ian Astbury from The Cult and Chris Cornell.  The best stuff on this album is 70's hard rock to the core, with stick-in-your-noggin riffs and smokin' solos up the middle.

I haven't heard much of the followup, Apocalyptic Love, which Myles Kennedy on vocals, but what I've heard sounds good.  Fellow poster WDYWN is our resident Slash expert.

I'm not implying that Slash is just playing the 'same old stuff' either.  He's playing that kind of music, yes, but there's a reasonable effort to be original.  And his musicianship is not in question.  The man can play.  That is one of the prime requirements of the music I'm talking about - it's written and played by serious musicians.

Others in this category, just the ones I know of, would be Soundgarden-who have a newly minted album-Wolfmother, and Rival Sons.  I put a clip of the Rival Sons' Zeppelinesque song Pressure and Time on Tcal's thread. 

This post has been removed.

In response to Hfxsoxnut's comment:

Apocalyptic Love is a bit hit or miss, I think, mainly because of Myles Kennedy and the other guy who sometimes does vocals with him.

Basically, when Myles is singing in his upper range, I tend to like him. "Anastasia" for example. He does a good job with the old G n' R tunes (although I tend to think Axl's unique voice, that is, in '88 when he still had one live, is still the best fit for those songs - it's got that a55hole sneer that was the sound of every instrument and vocal in Appetite).

But something seriously rubs me the wrong way when Myles sings in his lower range particularly when the other guy joins in and tries to harmonize. I don't know. Ruins some of the songs for me.

The 2010 album is also somewhat hit or miss since as you note he was pulling singers from all over the place. For example there's one song with Fergie. I don't particularly like the sound of the song overall, and definitely do not like her singing (or lyrics).

As for the man himself? I might differ somewhat. On most of the songs, I think he's playing an amplified version of his G n' R sound: more "metal" and downright mean. More body to it. Like that part of Estranged where his guitar just plain explodes out of the fading piano bit...

For example, "Watch this (live)" from the 2nd CD in the 2010 'deluxe' release. Or "Nothing to Say".

(Of course, that's not to say I wouldn't mind if he came up with more November Rain style awesomeness)

I have to give special mention tothe "Godfather solo," on the "Made in Stoke" live album, which was really just a riff he started screwing around with between songs and ended up being over 10 minutes long. (And in which he came up with the riff that was to become the explosive lead-in to Anastasia...after it's acoustic intro.). The style varies from minute to minute, even including a little bit of shredding where I swear the pick must be hitting the strings upwards of 20 times a second - the thwacking sound almost becoms a low hum.

Finally, his band seriously tears it up live.

 

 

 

Anyway, there are definitely small pockets of great new stuff.

I agree on the Black Keys.

And of course, Joe Bonamassa continues to grow on me.

In response to Hfxsoxnut's comment:

Now I finally get what the Hfx means.

I mean seriously, I knew you were a Sox fan...and a nut....but never gave the Hfx much thought.

I almost would have thought it was your initials, as in Henry Frank Xavier....glad I know the Hfx stands for Halifax, 'cause Henry Frank Xavier is a godawful moniker....my apologies to anyone who really has that name.

In response to Hfxsoxnut's comment:

************************************

Thanks for including The Black Keys - El Camino - GREAT Album! - (IMHO) I feel vindicated that others agree!

This post has been removed.