Electric Jazz and Bass fans already know what S.M.V. stands for but for those new to the thick strings it is a super-group combing Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller, and Victor Wooten, for their first release Thunder. “Super Group” is a term that gets thrown around a bit loosely, but no one can argue with this trio’s credentials.
Following their joyless dark masterpiece, 2006’s Return to Cookie Mountain, TV on the Radio was due for a prescription of musical prozac. Enter Dear Science, full of disco jams, new wave bouncers and patterns of soul, post-punk, and techno in favor of the art noise uncertainty of prior TV on the Radio.
Dig Out Your Soul offers some good songs like “Falling Down” and “The Turning” but those are just mediocre Oasis works. It sounds like Oasis covering Oasis – merely going through the motions. Maybe that’s a bit harsh, but while the songs sound like classic Oasis, they’re devoid of any real hooks or innovativeness that made them who they are today. The only true great track comes, surprisingly, from Liam: “I’m Outta Time.” It’s the first time Liam has managed to outshine Noel on an album.
he classic neo-hippie band, Blues Traveler, who first made it big with their self-titled debut album in the early 1990’s, are back with their seventh studio effort, North Hollywood Shootout. Featuring a diverse range of material, John Popper’s crew returns to a modern musical landscape with new material that is grounded in what originally made the band successful, catchy melodic hooks, introspective lyrics, and a hearty dose of classic rock and roll.
Gossip in the Grain, his third offering, finds LaMontagne at the top of his game, with his voice again being his best weapon of choice.
On his most recent albums, Rodney Crowell brandishes his keen intellect as much as a defense mechanism as a means of skewering sacred cows. But allowing Joe Henry, a songwriter of no means skills himself, to produce Sex and Gasoline, Crowell more readily opens up his heart, as if he already doesn’t exactly wear it on his sleeve.
Singer-songwriter Amos Lee has been here before. His first two albums, Amos Lee and Supply and Demand, both vaulted him to a “must-hear” level, and many people took notice. With Last Days at The Lodge, you’re hearing much of the same praise – and that’s because it’s a brilliant piece of work filled with soul, excellent songwriting, and passionate vocals.
Sure Dead Confederate may have one of the best names in rock, but as their name suggests, they stand out amongst their peers with ragged space rock elements that leap with wailing jams and harrowing unpredictability.
But Gdansk's highlight is “Echoes,” the full 25 minutes of the Floyd classic that rivals the majesty of the Meddle version, as Gilmour’s guitar weeps strong. And this being s one of Wright’s final recorded performances, his vocals on “Comfortably Numb,” make Live in Gdansk as solid a live album as there ever was, even if its not Pink Floyd..it’s damn close.
Join the Band is shrewd in its aim toward Little Feat’s core demographic, new fan and old. Essentially it’s the same one courted by executive producer Jimmy Buffett, who sing, appropriately enough, on a reggae/calypso arrangement of "Time Loves A Hero.” Yet fans of Brooks and Dunn will be as curious to hear their heroes on "Willin'" as Black Crowes fans will be to hear Chris Robinson croon "Oh Atlanta;" the latter is a slice of vintage Feats funk in which the singer puts his distinctly Southern voice to most effective use.
