… Shoving Convention Where The Sun Don’t Shine …
Dec 18 '01
The Bottom Line I'm sure there were 10 really good albums that came out in 2000 (some here even might've), but somehow i doubt it. BTW, my illustrious Editorship earned $3.85 in November.
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Big Deal.
I don’t keep up with what’s new in music. The history seems so much richer than what’s being served up over recent years. Therefore, I’m just going to throw out a few albums that I’ve come across lately that I find exceedingly enjoyable.
Waylon Jennings — Honky Tonk Heroes — This 1973 album could be the first to outline the genre of outlaw. It’s tough and gritty like you’d expect Loretta Lynn’s daddy would’ve listen to after putting up with all the garbage that piled after just a week’s worth of living — then, start in yelling at the damn kids. Billy Joe Shaver wrote the words, but that didn’t keep him and Waylon from getting into a couple of fracus’ during the recording sessions. And it shows, so, wear your boots.
Gene Harris — Best of the Concord Years — The big fat left hand of Gene Harris’ piano work simply must be without equal. The blues was the primary vehicle for Harris and this double-disc culls the expanse of his 50-year career with selections from his outings with both small groups as well as big bands. I saw the guy play (as part of his then touring four-piece) at 60+ years old a bit back, and was completely blown away by the amount of energy that he injected into the audience. One of my most memorable concerts experiences — and it’s represented well by the tunes on these two discs.
Blackalicious — Nia — Alright, I can dig on some grooves, but rap, for me, many times comes across as sheer bad karma. The violent and dehumanizing lyrics put me off, not because I’m a p.c. prude, I just don’t want to hear about the ills that way. Chief Xcel and Gift of Gab put forth a body of work devoid of these fantastically sensational subjectories. Awesomely fluid rapping and crystalline production place hip-hop into the high arts like nothing I’ve ever heard before. Another inspiration from seeing a live performance, I waited 4 years for the album to be released. Keep your ears pealed and expect another full-length in the coming year.
Vermont + Centro-Matic — Opportunity (Split E.P.) — Each doing the others material, we get something that might be misconstrued as a mellowed-out Beck rip-off. But hold the phone, these guys pull it off with more organics — like — they’d have no problem playing this stuff live — and they do. I’ve tripled my Centro-Matic purchases since hearing this first one (if that tells you anything).
Fela — His entire 70’s output — Long out-of-print, the late Father of Afro-beat gets his due with a impressive series of re-release’s from his back catalogue. MCA finally shows that they actually figured-out how to master (and transfer) the digital format (think of those horrid sounding Hendrix discs from a few years back). Dispersed onto two-fer-one discs that take advantage of both the time space and the sonic headroom, this may be the ideal format with which to build a proper Fela collection. But what about the music? The presented material should be considered without further discussion. Let's just say that when I saw that these were available, I bought 6 of them on-the-spot.
Incredible String Band — 1966 - 1969 — These Six albums-worth of output isn’t all that essential, well, maybe three of them are. The thing is, dear friends, is that not-a-one of them was purchased for over $6. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, all you jokers out there who brag about how “into” music you are, your weirdo Sting releases aren’t cutting it. Get yourself a goddamn turntable and start digging through some used vinyl shoppes if you really want to learn something. Lots and lots of stuff will never see the digital light of day, so go nab some tasty treats like these.
Darla Records — Bliss Out Series — Over the past few years the owner of Darla Records has recruited different groups to come-up with an album the fits into his bliss-out paradigm. Not that the guy has it all figured out or anything, he was just sick of playing his Eno discs over and over, and wanted some new goods to listen to. Subsequently, Darla has released some 17 of these things and a lot of them are super good. Their website offers a subscription of 12 for $99, so I filled up my cart with 10 “back-issues”, and they’ll send me two more along as they’re released. Pretty damn cool. I’ve listened to most of them but I don’t pay close enough attention to take note of what’s what. Pick them with your intuition and all’ll be fine.
Songs Ohia — Ghost Tropic — Jason Molina is a 5’ 3” deeply-troubled alcoholic who can brood with best of them. From album-to-album, he might go it alone solo, play all the backing himself, or, hand out the musician duties ad hoc. Doesn’t matter though, because this guy’s a modern day songwriting machine (he's almost competition for Robert Pollard) who’s released five albums in the last 24 months — so he must have something to say. He’s also great “live” if you get the opportunity. Super Extra Highly Recommended for fans of Dave Matthews if your ready top take off the training wheels.
Rashaan Roland Kirk — The Complete Mercury Recordings — I pondered buying this 10CD box set more than once. I knew that I’d dig the music, but at a hefty list price of nearly $150, you might understand my trepidation. But if you’re a fan of Jazz—any kind of Jazz—you need to get at least some of this guys music (I’ve got a back review if you’re interested). His does Lester, he does Coleman, he does Parker, he does Brown, he does Rollins; but the thing is, Kirk can just about play all of them at once. Quite possibly my single most favorite Jazz musician, anything within the bookends of this box set (save the heavy-handed Quincy Jones Ochestra stuff) I hold with the highest regard, or at least I will until I break down and spring for Riverside 12 disc set of Wes Montgomery. Drool.
Josh Rouse — Dressed Up Like Nebraska & Chester — I was a late bloomer to the advent of the whole Uncle Tupelo School, in fact, it was only about 14 months ago that I first saw Wilco on Austin City Limits. Since then, I’ve also discovered Josh Rouse and I like him better than the lot of them. Young guy, pays tribute to Morrissey, writes honest; and mostly, he throws down some sensitively grooving accusti-jams — and no, not like the Dead or Sting Cheese. He’s almost like a Jeff Lynne reincarnated, if you know what I mean (even though Lynne’s still kicking), lots of flavors, cleanly rendered up-front vocals, and real nice positively-laced energy (regardless of subject matter). The first listed album is his debut, and the second is an E.P. where he played his own music but he sung the words of Lambchop’s Kurt Wagner. He’s even got a second full–length that came out last year that’s real nice, too, so even if you’re a crack-pipe smoker and easily forget details, you simply can’t go wrong as long as you can remember his name. That’s Rouse; Josh Rouse.
Bottom-line here folks is go out and not only find new music, come back and share it with your friends, your lovers, and yes, maybe even a fellow Epinions member or two.
Ho³
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Epinions.com ID:
Christoff
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Reviews written: 35
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