Album Reviews Archives - Page 527 of 705

Frankie Miller:

Doug Collette December 19, 2011 No Comments

It’s not quite accurate to call Frankie Miller the unsung hero of British rock n’ soul because he had more than just a taste of mainstream recognition, while the crafts-manlike songwriter in him garnered comparable commercial success via movies and television. Yet the emotional undercurrent in the music included in …That’s Who! makes the case he was worthy of more widespread acknowledgement than the compilation’s title wryly references.

Keller Williams: Bass

Bryan Rodgers December 14, 2011 No Comments

But for Bass to be anything other than what it is would be discounting what he’s built over the last two decades. It’s not going to replace Williams’ Stage or Breathe in the jamband canon, but Bass is as quintessentially Keller as the rest of his catalog.

Lotus: Lotus

Bryan Rodgers December 13, 2011 No Comments

Lotus’ self-titled fourth studio album features the band painting with bigger, broader brushes to create their musical vision. There’s a signature sound in place, the result of a decade’s worth of evolution in both band and equipment, but many of the intricacies that defined the band’s sound have been shaped into grander melodic ideas.

Ray Charles: Singular Genius: The Complete ABC Singles

Gerry Hardy December 13, 2011 No Comments

Singular Genius: The Complete ABC Singles covers this second period of Ray Charles’ career 1959 to 1972 on ABC-Paramount, offering A and B sides of all the singles released by ABC. The hits are here starting with his first #1 for ABC, “Georgia On My Mind” all the way to “America The Beautiful” in 1972.

Steve Bernstein

Shawn Donohue December 12, 2011 No Comments

Opening with an instrumental workout that builds to the lyrical proclamations of “Stand” you witness immediately that MTO Plays Sly is not your ordinary cover album.

Bill Frisell: All We Are Saying…..

Brian Palmer December 9, 2011 No Comments

Beatles and or John Lennon covers can be horrifying to behold. From the band who plays a song note for note with all the imagination of an accountant, to the performer who absolutely wrecks a classic by making it sound kitschy, the world is littered with songs that have been given something less than the royal treatment. But when placed in the hands of legendary maverick guitarist Bill Frisell, an album full of such John Lennon songs is engaging because the tracks become lyric-less re-imaginings rather than bland retreads or ridiculous send-ups.

Jonathan Wilson: Gentle Spirit

Doug Collette December 8, 2011 No Comments

Known less as a musician and more for his role as producer (Dawes among other collaborations) as well as avatar for the (re-) burgeoning Laurel Canyon music scene in California, Jonathan Wilson aims to equalize the balance with Gentle Spirit, his second full length (and first widely-distributed) solo album. The beauty of the work is that it captures rather than contrives the tranquility implied in its title, not surprisingly with most of the musicianship supplied by Wilson himself

The Black Keys: El Camino

Shawn Donohue December 5, 2011 No Comments

With 2010’s epic Brothers, Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney were propelled to superstar status and with good reason as the band found inspiration in broken marriages and Muscle Shoals Studio. The expanded musical instrumentation and focus on crafting heartfelt songs paid huge dividends for the band, producing a new album a year later is unexpected and when first announced smelled of leftover tracks.

Greensky Bluegrass: Handguns

Bryan Rodgers December 5, 2011 No Comments

Handguns, the 4th studio album from Greensky Bluegrass, is one of the most stirring acoustic releases of the year. The five-man Michigan band has taken strands of bluegrass, country, folk, and engineered a lyrically blunt, musically sophisticated strain of acoustic art. The songs have an honesty that harkens back to the glory days of confessional country music as perfected by Willie Nelson, Loretta Lynn, and the like.

The Roots: Undun

Nick Gunther November 30, 2011 No Comments

The heart monitor flatline in the opening of undun is more than an just an entry, it’s an exit and ending to a life that belonged to Redford Stephens, the poor-decisions-dictated-the-unfortunate-outcome-of-life type of identifiable character that The Roots’ 13th album is centered about. In this detailed introduction, the reverse whirlwind that shifts from the piercing first note into the ghostly organ-driven lines leads up to a man’s final breath of air in a fast-paced adrenaline rush.

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