Neil Young, Chrome Dreams II—Neil’s sequel to an album that doesn’t exits. Thanks Perry.
The Budos Band, The Budos Band II—FUNKY, FUNKY, FUNKY. Old school funk and R&B from Staten Island crew in the Dap-King circle.
Easy Star All-Stars, Radiodread—Had my doubts about this reggae cover of Radiohead’s OK Computer, but the guys at High Life Records on Commercial Drive said it was stupendous, and it is.
Easy Star All Stars, Dub Side of the Moon—Even better than the Radiohead cover!
Mulatu Astatke Ethiopiques, Vol. 4: Ethio Jazz & Musique Instrumentale, 1969-1974—”…the 14 instrumentals here were originally issued on two LPs in 1972 and 1974 in Ethiopia, and represent a curious blend of soul-jazz and R&B with just a smattering of Ethiopian roots breaking up the stabbing horn lines, wah-wah guitars, and simmering electric piano. ” Fantastic!
Ronnie Earl & the Broadcasters, Hope Radio—Great “live in the studio” album but highly underrated blues guitarist out of Boston.
Aesop Rock, None Shall Pass—This was on lots of best of 2007 lists so I said what the hey, I’ll check it out. AP strings together some amazing stream of consciousness rhymes, but this supposedly “accessible” album didn’t really grab this 50 something white guy, maybe not too surprising.
Eagles, Long Road Out Of Eden—Perry sent me this one (and the Robben Ford cd below) and while I was skeptical it’s not bad.
Robben Ford, Truth—Guitar god’s first album in four years is pleasing blend of jazz and smooth blues even a little rock on the opening track. But, hit the old skip button when his tribute to BB King starts up.
Mavis Staples, We’ll Never Turn Back—Songs of the civil rights struggles of the 1950s and 1960s produced by Ry Cooder.
Ani DiFranco, Imperfectly—Early album from The “Righteous Babe”.
Johnnie Taylor Live at the Summit—This is an amazing document. Because of time overruns Johnnie got bumped from the line up at the main event of the legendary 1973 Wattstax music festival—Black America’s answer to Woodstock. Recorded for inclusion in Mel Stuart’s film Wattstax (one song made the cut), “the performance by Taylor is electrifying. He’s in a club in front of the City of Angels regulars who, according to the notes, were “fur-lined players and ice cold hustlers.” Given the film stills in the booklet, this observation proves to be true. Taylor is far from intimidated, however; he simply delivers an authoritative, strutting, burning performance that engages the audience at street level.”
Warren Zevon Stand in the Fire—Masterpiece live album from 1981. This reissue has four previously unreleased cuts including “Johnny Strikes Up The Band,” “Frank And Jesse James,” and “Hasten Down The Wind.”
Ike Turner & The Rhythm Kings A Black Man’s Soul—First released in 1969, this album shows how Ike crossed R&B with funk, rock and gospel to show off the wide spectrum of black music. The opening track, “Thinking Black” was nominated for “Best R&B Instrumental” Grammy in 1969; that same year Tina was nominated for “Best Female R&B Singer” Grammy.
Tony Joe White Beginnings—Just Tony Joe, his acoustic guitar and some great songs.
Dinosaur Jr Beyond—I was inspired to buy J Mascis comeback after reading John Sellers’ memoir Perfect From Now On: How Indie Rock Saved My Life (which was named after Built to Spill‘s third album, but has more about Guided By Voices than any other band…And Sellers actually got to drink with Pollard at Monument Club! All of which has little to do with this new Dinosuar Jr album, but…
Beruit Gulag Orkestar—Largely the work of one 19-year old Albuquerquean named Zach Condon, this album basically sounds like a Balkan gypsy orchestra playing modern songs, despite this it sounds pretty good.
Robert Pollard’s Superman Was A Rocker is a return to old ways. This mini-album (13 songs, 30 minutes) finds Pollard using recording methods he hasn’t engaged in since his time in Guided By Voices. Pollard recently poured through a bunch of old cassette tapes and found some great, never-used instrumentals that he either wrote or co-wrote, and and he decided to go into the studio and put vocals (and melodies!) over them, just like he used to back in the old Guided By Voices days. The music spans a 20+ year period, so in essence, this is an album 20 years in the making.
PS—I highly recommend Black Mountain’s new one, “In the Future” more next month…
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