Doug Collette

R.E.M.: Fables of the Reconstruction – 25th Anniversary Edition

Few archival releases are as revelatory as this 25th Anniversary edition of R.E.M.’s , so it’s perfectly appropriate the packaging recalls nothing so much as a limited edition, designed by the band itself. Replica LP sleeves, individual portraits of the four men as well as a booklet and a large foldout poster are all extensions of the original artwork.

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Dave Binney: Aliso

Dave Binney's Aliso is a vigorous piece of work where the production values of sparkling sound and astute track sequencing are wholly in line with the stellar musicianship.

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Gov’t Mule: Mulennium

Mulennium is the first archival project ever released by Gov’t Mule, accurately timed for debut in the general time-frame of the loss of bassist Allen Woody a decade ago. Recorded at the cusp of the millennium on New Year’s Eve 1999-2000, this triple-disc package sounds (splendid) and looks like a blueprint for the band’s music throughout what is now a redoubtable sixteen year stint on the road and in the recording studio.

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Big Head Todd and The Monsters: Rocksteady

The challenge for a band with the longevity of Big Head Todd and The Monsters is how to subtly reinvent themselves without undermining the style they’ve cultivated during the course of their career. The Colorado group has struggled in that regard (see 2004’s Crimes of Passion), but Rocksteady is fresh in ways even the band might not expect.

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Los Lobos: Tin Can Trust

Without any overtly topical songs within these eleven tracks, Los Lobos manage to capture the precarious tenor of our times and their cover of the Grateful Dead’s “West LA Fadeway” is particularly resonant in that regard. Like the iconic San Francisco institution, his band from East LA offers respite that’s as self-renewing as their own creativity and the music that arises from it.

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Tommy Keene: You Hear Me A Retrospective 1983-2009

Just as both camps will be attracted by the gorgeous color packaging of You Hear Me, newcomers to the music of Tommy Keene who hear the double CD set  will no doubt be as impressed by the consistency of this Retrospective as long-standing fans. Yet the most beautiful virtue of this music may be that it’s equally satisfying to play in the background or sit down and listen closely.

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Jacky Terrason: Push

There is a  warmth in Jacky Terrasson's piano playing on Push not unlike that which pervades his previous work. But in combination with the playful charm he exudes throughout this disc, along with the simpatico relationship evident with his accompanists, the sensation runs deeper than in the past.

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John Hiatt: The Open Road

John Hiatt's latest release The Open Road is a loose, very spontaneous affair, much like its predecessor Same Old Man. But unlike that prior album, where the focus remained on the songs, the material on this new album is the means to the end of making music, during the course of which Hiatt himself is an integral member of  highly-skilled band.

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The Rolling Stones: Exile On Main Street – Deluxe Edition

If ever a classic rock album was not suited for a deluxe reissue, it's The Rolling Stones' Exile on Main Street. The textbook definition of a whole being (far) greater than the sum of its parts, the album works in strange mysterious ways, and the various packages can only go so far to reveal exactly how that process worked.

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The Plimsouls: Live Beg Borrow & Steal: October 31 1981 Whiskey

The Plimsouls were virtually alone as an authentic rock and roll band within the lemming-like procession of New Wavers that followed the punk explosion of 1979. In this Halloween 1981 recording from the Whiskey A Go Go in Los Angeles, this group's savvy fusion of influences is absolutely galvanizing.

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