The Collector’s Edition of Warren Zevon's debut album has all the pristine clarity of most 70's California rock. But the shadowy blue tones of the front-cover photograph suggest how deceptively arresting the music is inside.
There's a fine line between grand and grandiose. Most concept albums are so much the latter that they never even get close to the line. Sepultura, veterans of the concept album, aren't close to that line either, but they're on the good side.
The term "supergroup" may be popular music's greatest misnomer. Sure, supergroups are typically made up of musicians who have done some super things, but more often than not, the meeting of their superness is just not all that, well, super. So, as legendary as the meeting of Jaco Pastorius, John McLaughlin and Tony Williams may have become over the years, there's always room for skepticism.
Some albums kick off with the strongest or most accessible song as a means of sucking the listener in. Others, ease their way into the real meat of the album so as not to scare the listener with their boldest material. But very few jump in with their most grating and difficult content. Women's self-titled album is, however, just one of those anomalies.
Recorded in the informal atmosphere of a home studio, Already Free effectively extends the sound of The Derek Trucks Band on stage without a conscious attempt to replicate the live experience. While the album doesn't focus on the instrumental aspect of the group’s music like 2003's Soul Serenade, it never for once ignoresTrucks' exquisite guitar work.
Prog is a genre not particularly known for being understated. Restraint is a quality seldom found among its purveyors. Heavy Water Experiments is not quite a traditional prog band, but clearly wear their prog influences for all to see. However, they manage to do it without the esoteric musical exercises and unabashed bombast that seem to be the norm.
Dan Tyminski’s rise to fame came through years of touring as a vocalist and guitarist for bluegrass megastars, Alison Krauss and The Union Station. Then, a few years back, he became a household name when he was thrust into the spotlight as the vocalist for the hit single, "Man of Constant Sorrow," from the hit movie, O Brother Where Art Thou?. With his second solo release, Wheels, Dan Tyminski creates an ensemble of virtuoso pickers to compliment his strong tenor voice without ever getting in the way of the song.
Because Boulderado: Live at the Fox 2008 comes so closely on the heels of 2007's splendid live document Keep on Marchin', both casual listeners and died-in-the-wool fans may question the validity of another double-CD live set from The North Mississippi Allstars.
New York City’s Pistola thrives in the late 90’s post-hardcore realm, don’t tell them it is almost 2009 and all the kids are using Garage Band as a short cut; they don’t want to hear it. They are content in playing in the same vein as Quicksand, Unsane and Helmet and have consistently done so on their new release The Bleeder.
David Byrne has been known to reinvent himself through various artistic mediums, so it was no surprise that he recently decided to recharge his creative battery by reconvening with Brian Eno. Byrne/Eno of course are renowned for their work on early Talking Heads albums and 1981’s landmark electronica/ambient album – My Life in The Bush of Ghosts.
