Album Reviews Archives - Page 556 of 712

Gregg Allman: Low Country Blues

Shane Handler January 20, 2011 No Comments

Low Country Blues, Allman’s first solo album since 1997 and produced by – who else these days T Bone Burnett- pays homage to his roots with a reworking of songs from Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Otis Rush, Skip James and more. Burnett has assembled a band that includes guitarist Doyle Bramhall II and Dr. John to capture the spirit of swamps blues and themes of regret, tears and redemption. Allman’s voice stars front and center, a breather from competing with the guitar acrobats of the fertile gunslingers in his “other” band.

Brooke Fraser: Flags

Brian Palmer January 18, 2011 No Comments

On Flags, Brooke Fraser demonstrates that she is not just another in a long line of pop singer-songwriters who get by on their looks and marginal talent. Her observations alone about the human condition cause this collection of songs to rise above the efforts of many of her contemporaries, and her rich vocals combine with the plethora of piano pop rock sounds and sometimes otherworldly accompaniments to make the whole experience even more impressive.

Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion: Bright Examples

Chris Calarco January 17, 2011 No Comments

A laid back precision may be Bright Examples hallmark. That place where music surges gracefully like a passing river in a crystal moonlit night. This music is simultaneously hushed and vibrant, pulsing and meticulous, lucid and a little scruffy.

Destroyer: Kaputt

Jeff Strowe January 14, 2011 No Comments

On Kaputt, Bejar’s full-length follow-up to 2009’s Bay of Pigs EP, the formula that has worked so well on past releases returns, however, this time with a twist: an ‘80’s jazz-fused, electronic sound more in line with Roxy Music and Spandau Ballet than previous albums have revealed.

Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers: Damn The Torpedoes (Deluxe Edition)

Doug Collette January 14, 2011 No Comments

Tom Petty & the Heartbreaker’s Damn the Torpedoes was the band’s breakthrough album, launching an ascent to rock icon status via a painstaking (and often painful) creative process. The combination of the band’s third album in an expanded package with a simultaneously released DVD would’ve made for a truly deluxe edition.

The Greenhornes: Four Stars

Shawn Donohue January 13, 2011 No Comments

The Greenhornes fourth album is cleverly and aptly titled as they return to the retro-garage-psychedelic-pop proceedings that they perfected at the beginning of the millennium. The jangle and aggression have been turned down to focus hardcore on keyboards, simple song structures and trippy blends of sound; all of which are evident on the eastern tempo change mayhem of “Cave Drawings” and the classic soul ringing “Better Off Without It”.

Bruce Springsteen: The Promise

Doug Collette January 12, 2011 No Comments

The Promise consists of material Bruce Springsteen wrote and recorded in 1977 and 1978 in the process of preparing Darkness on the Edge of Town. In his essay in the accompanying booklet, Springsteen tries to explain why he’s gone to such lengths in revisiting this album but he ultimately misses the point in describing the significance of the most musically and emotionally pure work he’s ever recorded (this side of Tunnel of Love).

Kate Jacobs: Home Game

Gerry Hardy January 10, 2011 No Comments

After a seven year sabbatical taken to concentrate on family, New Jersey singer/songwriter Kate Jacobs returns with her fifth album. Recorded with her long-time band, Paul Moschella, James MacMillan, and Dave Schramm, who also produced the album, Home Game is a delightful collection devoted to the art of the three minute acoustic pop song, though two of them do clock in at a comparatively long four minutes.

Cage The Elephant: Thank You Happy Birthday

Nick Gunther January 10, 2011 No Comments

What made Cage the Elephant’s self-titled debut so appealing was that it had both a raw and uncompromising feel to it, while still being a very digestible album. Matt Shultz was able to capture a live sounding, in-your-face, type of style that applied a choke hold on many a person’s first listens. Their second record, Thank You Happy Birthday (Jive), continues to have that blend of distorted chaos that combines aggressive rhythmic chords with edgy sarcastic lyrics, though it is slightly more difficult to chew this time around.

Bob Dylan: The Original Mono Recordings

Doug Collette January 5, 2011 No Comments

The Original Mono Recordings of Bob Dylan are almost as much of a revelation as those of The Beatles, albeit for different reasons. The Bard from Minnesota never took recording as seriously as the Liverpool quartet, but his music lends itself better to the vintage recording technique. A fifteen-track collection culled from his first eight albums illustrates why.

Album Reviews

View posts by year

Recent Posts

New to Glide

Keep up-to-date with Glide

Twitter