April 15, 2021

Bob Lord: Playland Arcade

Producer, composer, and bassist Bob Lord is not a household name, but it will be difficult to find a person who hasn't a bit of music through his company PARMA Recordings which has worked their magic to promote ABC, CBS, Microsoft, HBO, and Nintendo to name a few. Still, he is an incurable prog rocker and iconoclast in his spare time, and with the upcoming release of his solo debut Playland Arcade he finally becomes a solo artist.

Lord always had a soft spot for Hampton Beach in New Hampshire since he was kid. He played the games in the arcades and wolfed down the snacks. 2020 was the first year that he wasn't able to play games like Galaga and Centipede at the venue that gave his album its name. As a tribute he sat down and wrote an eclectic pile of material to capture the various forms entertainment. Some of them are actually short burst of bumper music. Hey and Skee Ball lasts only a few seconds, while others are fully orchestrated instrumentals (Wyoming Vice, Fanfare For A Losing Team, featuring the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra. Lord's composing skills are quite versatile. he can pull off tinkling Sci-Fi prog with Night Sweats and Mighty Forces - the latter will be adored by Tony Banks afficionados. Vintage Hollywood big band soundtracks get an outing with Lobster Roll and Beach Pizza. And it's easy to picture a badass gunslinger riding into the sunset accompanied by The Backward Swan.

With his 8-string bass as the backbone and putting his programming skills to the max he has created a cornucopia of sounds that can be overwhelming. Be sure to sit down comfortably for this one and enjoy the ride.

Bob Lord: bass, keyboards, programming
Josh Corringham: hand claps
Chris Dow: flute
Jamie Perkin: drums, percussion
Andy Happel: violin
Ed Jurdi: guitar
Shaun Frenchie Michaud: guitar
Chris Robinson: bass
Steve Ruhm: drums
Eduardo Silveira: percussion
Duncan Watt: organ, synthesizer, Wurlitzer piano
Jon Wyman: foley

Playland Arcade is a self-released album. Buy it from his website. Release date: April 27.

Tracks:
  1. Fry Doe
  2. Hey
  3. Yo Soy Miguel
  4. In For The Kill
  5. Night Sweats
  6. Lobster Roll
  7. The Backward Swan
  8. Air Hockey
  9. Intermezzo
  10. Skee Ball
  11. Wyoming Vice
  12. Get Yer Drink Up
  13. Beach Pizza
  14. Tenderly
  15. Opening Day
  16. Fanfare For A Losing Team
  17. Mighty Forces
  18. Last Word
  19. Siege

» boblordmusic.com

No comments:

Post a Comment