Welcome to Seven in Seven, where each week we typically take a look at shows coming to the region over the next week. And while venue doors are slowly opening again, due to the current pandemic they aren’t quite there yet. That doesn’t mean the music stops, and new releases are coming out weekly from artists you know and love and some waiting to be discovered. Each week we’ll be looking at some of the best hitting shelves and streaming services and a can’t miss show in the region.
Whether your musical tastes are rock and roll, jazz, heavy metal, R&B, singer-songwriter or indie, there’ll always be something to check out. Here’s what’s on the docket for the week of Nov. 26:
Show of the week
Genesis — Wells Fargo Center — Dec. 2 and 3
There are points where a band just shouldn’t be on the road anymore as age finally takes its toll. On paper, that’s how it should be right now for Genesis, who bring “The Last Domino?” tour to the Wells Fargo Center for two nights next week. Frontman and onetime powerhouse drummer Phill Collins is now relegated to a seated position for the duration of the show — and not behind the kit. Stymied by spinal injuries and other physical maladies, he’s unable to even hold a drumstick these days. Keeping it in the family, his son Nic is filling in on drums. Frail as their singer may be, though, Genesis still pulls out the hits like few other prog-rock outfits can, aided by the always reliable Tony Banks on keyboards and Mike Rutherford on guitars. Songs like “Home by the Sea” and “Invisible Touch” still sound relevant, and even the Peter Gabriel era is touched upon with “The Carpet Crawlers” and title track to the 1974 LP “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway.” Don’t expect the gigs to be much more than a nostalgia trip, though, and potentially the last time the lineup includes Collins on vocals, making it a night — or nights — to not miss.
New releases
Deep Purple — “Turning to Crime”
“Turning to Crime” arrives only 15 months after “Whoosh!” — Deep Purple’s 21st studio album, which received acclaim by critics who praised the creative strength of a band that continues evolving despite the still maligned departure of guitar wizard Ritchie Blackmore nearly three decades ago and 2012 death of keyboardist Jon Lord. This new release is DP’s first album of tracks that weren’t written by the band; it’s a collection of songs previously recorded by other artists, including Cream’s “White Room,” Fleetwood Mac’s “Oh Well” and Bob Dylan’s “Watching the River Flow.”
Julie Doiron — “I Thought of You”
Ever the bountiful songwriter, Julie Doiron had been writing songs in the nine years since her last solo record, “So Many Days,” keeping them close and waiting for it to feel right to head back into a studio. “I Thought of You” is every bit an instant classic as only she can masterfully create, with the singer emanating a radiative force with nothing more than her guitar and her unmistakably indomitable voice. Doiron is a maker of songs and a teller of stories, wielding her instruments like a craftsperson would their tools.
G. Love — “Coming Back Home for Christmas”
One of the region’s favorite sons, G. Love, returns just in time for the holidays with “Coming Back Home for Christmas.” Recorded and produced by Jon Evans in Orleans, Mass., it’s a rootsy, heartfelt holiday classic that will bring the love and the blues into the season’s soundtrack. The LP of all originals follows up G. Love’s first holiday effort, the well-received “Coming Home for Christmas,” released in 2017.
Fawns of Love — “Innocence of Protection”
Bakersfield, Calif. post-punk duo Fawns of Love, made up of singer Jenny Andreotti and multi-instrumentalist Joseph Andreotti, return with their latest album, “Innocence of Protection.” It continues the roll the wife and husband duo have been on since 2019’s critically acclaimed LP “Permanent.” They’ve been messing around with a few ancillary projects in the time since, but “Innocence of Protection” is a remarkable sign of growth both melodically and in confidence.
Dan Sartain — “Arise, Dan Sartain, Arise”
“Arise, Dan Sartain, Arise” is the latest studio album by rock ’n’ roll troubadour Dan Sartain. Made up of 13 wickedly wisecracking, vintage surf-rock bangers, this concise and classic record incorporates everything that’s made him a favorite underdog in the genre over the last two decades. Sadly, Sartain passed away this past March, and at the request of his family, wife and daughter, this album, which he finished a few months before his death, is being released. All of the profits from the LP, both the artist’s share and the record company share, are being paid into a trust fund for Sartain’s young daughter. And it is being released as he intended; nothing has been changed.
Richard Dawson and Circle — “Henki”
“Henki” is the epic joint record from Richard Dawson, the diminutive Geordie troubadour, and Circle, the genre-straddling pioneers of The New Wave of Finnish Heavy Metal. Unlike any metal album heard before, the seven tracks deal with special plants throughout history, making it the greatest flora-themed hypno-folk-metal record you’ll hear this year — or likely any year for that matter.
Soundcheck
Genesis: “Home by the Sea”Deep Purple: “Oh Well”Julie Doiron: “You Gave Me the Key”G. Love: “Christmas Joint”Fawns of Love: “In Between Maddening”Dan Sartain: “Throwing Stones at Glass Houses”Richard Dawson and Circle: “Lily”
