It isn’t a new idea to undertake a work that is dedicated to covers of already known and loved songs, but it is somewhat unusual for one person to take the music of just one band and translate it into the classical form. Again, this isn’t exactly without precedent, and while everyone is fully aware of the many full-blown orchestral attempts over the years (some of which have been incredibly successful, such as David Palmer’s work on the likes of Jethro Tull and Pink Floyd, others not so much), there have actually been a few other attempts with far less bombast, and I am still a huge fan of the two albums by Yngve Guddal & Roger T. Matte where they translated Genesis for two grand pianos. But, racking my brain and my personal library I cannot think of another quite like this.
Here Fernando Perdomo combines his love of classical guitar and King Crimson to create something which is a worthy tribute, and successful on all counts. One thing I particularly like is that this recording does contain a few slight fluffs, which allows me to think that each recording is solid without any drop-ins or overdubs. Indeed, with the resonance of the strings, it would be hard for that to take place. Ten songs, with a total length of just 25 minutes, this is a delight for any fan – as to whether it works for those who don’t know any of the pieces I am unable to judge, as this is like meeting old friends who are familiar, but somehow quite different as well.
Fernando Perdomo says of the release: “’ The Crimson Guitar’ is my passionate love letter to the amazing King Crimson music that fascinated me when I was first learning classical guitar in my early teens… I created these arrangements with the utmost respect for the music and legacy of the band. My hope is to bring light to the delicate beauty of the songs”. I think he has achieved that with some ease, as these are a delight, making them somehow more original and also inviting the listener to go back to the original albums and compare the two. Sheer class from beginning to end and essential for any fan of King Crimson. 8/10 Kev Rowland
Coronavirus Rhapsody – performed by Shelter Skelter (Timmy Sean, Fernando Perdomo, & Nick Bertling)
Inspired by comedian Dana Jay Bein’s (@danajaybein) Twitter thread of parody lyrics to Queen’s classic “Bohemian Rhapsody,” we decided to do the unthinkable…re-record one of the greatest recordings of all time, with Dana’s lyrics. We hope we did both justice! Recorded in each of our home studios in California and Indiana remotely, we are three multi-instrumentalist producers who came together during the pandemic to form “Shelter Skelter.”
SHELTER SKELTER proudly plays Brian May Guitars, VOX Amps, Magnatone Amps, Tama Drums, Ernie Ball guitar strings, and heavily relied on IK Multimedia’s Amplitube Brian May Collection to replicate Dr. May’s guitar tones on this track.
“Bohemian Rhapsody” written by Freddie Mercury
“Coronavirus Rhapsody” parody lyrics by Dana Jay Bein
What’s the most unexpected thing for me to do a day before Out to Sea 3 drops? ANNOUNCE MY YACHT ROCK RECORD. “Yacht” is my next pop vocal record and it comes out 3/20/20 10 songs that are smoother than the wood on a 60s yacht.
Tracklisting 1. I Wanna Look In Your Eyes 2. Streetwalkin Rhythm 3. Kissing A Smile (feat. Chloe Dolandis). 4. Mullholland Highway 5. SIde By Side 6. Stay With The Friends 7. Love Is A Journey 8. Feels 9. The One You Run To 10. Hollywood Bowl
WHY DID I MAKE THIS? Fernando Perdomo and The Out to Sea Band will be performing YACHT ROCK On The Blue Cruise 2020 So I wrote some originals to keep us from being just a cover band.. hope you dig
Lifesigns UK tour, which starts in Swindon on Friday! All going well, the band is sounding great and we’re introducing a few new tunes to the set. Hope some of you can make it along – full gig list below. Last weekend I recorded the guitar parts for a new 15 minute epic piece for the forthcoming Lifesigns album. The track is called ‘Altitude‘ and is sounding amazing. It won’t be included in the set as we’re still working on completing it and it will need a lot of rehearsal, but I hope it will be ready to be included in subsequent tours later in the year!
On tour with Lifesigns, Fernando Perdomo, Sally Minnear & Strawbs!
DAVE BAINBRIDGE (SOLO) 15th June The Royal Oak, Hampton, London (Dave playing 1/2 hour set at the Jam Night – free entry!)
STRAWBS ELECTRIC BAND UK TOUR (Further info here) 17th June Cheese & Grain, Frome 19th June Clarence Hall, Abergavenny, Wales 20th June Trading Boundaries, East Sussex 21st June Cambridge Rock Festival, Peterborough 22nd June Robin 2, Bilston 23rd June The Stables, Wavendon
As mentioned in the previous newsletter, another very exciting project I’ve been working on with Rob Ayling from Gonzo Multimedia is a new Iona 30th Anniversary box set!! Actually this will be the first of several Iona box set releases and will be titled ‘The Book of Iona’ In the past few weeks I’ve been going through my extensive archive of Iona recordings, looking for things to include on the companion disk which will accompany each of the studio albums and I’ve discovered some amazing stuff! Previously unreleased songs, original demo tapes, alternate mixes, live recordings I’d completely forgotten about etc!! A real treasure trove for all Iona fans. I played some of these to Rob the other day and he was blown away by what I’d found – some real gems, including a recording from August 1989 of the very first time Joanne and I got together to record demos of some of her just written songs for the first album! It’s taking me a while to go through everything and choose what to include, but the recordings give an incredible insight into the background behind the band’s albums and working methods. Above is an illustration of how the box set will look. I saw a prototype of the box a few days ago and it looks really great – very substantial and classy – a real coffee table item! More on this soon and on the new Open Sky Records online store, which will be launching very soon!!
King Crimson Tribute Album “The Crimson Guitar” Released by American Guitarist Fernando Perdomo – OUT NOW!
“The Crimson Guitar” is the eagerly anticipated fifth full-length album by Fernando Perdomo, guitarist and bassist of The Dave Kerzner Band and Jakob Dylan’s Echo In The Canyon Band.
This NEW STUDIO ALBUM is a tribute to KING CRIMSON and has been a labour of love for Perdomo.
Fernando Perdomo said of the release: “’The Crimson Guitar’ is my passionate love letter to the amazing King Crimson music that fascinated me when I was first learning classical guitar in my early teens… I created these arrangements with the upmost respect to the music and legacy of the band. My hope is to bring light to the delicate beauty of the songs”
The album has been released by Forward Motion Records, via Cherry Red.
TRACK LISTING 1. PEACE (A THEME) 2. ISLANDS 3. I TALK TO THE WIND 4. FORMENTERA LADY 5. STARLESS 6. PRINCE RUPERT AWAKES 7. ERUDITE EYES 8. MOONCHILD 9. BOOK OF SATURDAY 10. THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING
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