New Album Releases, Week of 3-21-2006
Published March 22, 2006
Kids, we got us a new Prince album this week, 3121. The man's been a mixed bag in recent years, but a new Prince album always rates at least a couple of close listens. Early reviews sound promising, and it's currently #2 at Amazon.
Rhino has a remastered version of Elvis Costello's criminally underappreciated classic The Juliet Letters, composed and performed with a classical string quartet. Personally, I definitely take this over the higher profile Painted From Memory among that orchestral end of the Elvis catalog. "Swine" is a personal fave- though it would be hard to pick just one.
This Rhino version comes with a whole separate disc of bonuses. That's more generous, and it has the advantage of leaving the original album sequence intact on one disc. Among other things, it has some kind of live version of "God Only Knows," a kind of song that he has grown enough over the years as a vocalist to do justice to. But best of all, there are at least several bonus titles unfamiliar to even so devoted an Elvis man as me. New Elvis!
The anti-Christ is loose on the Earth. No, not Bin Laden or Barbara Streisand. I mean the real, true enemy of Geometry and Theology, Kenny Rogers. His umpteenth sure-to-be a hit assault upon all that is holy is entitled Water & Bridges. I naturally and most righteously assumed such an outlook on Mr. Rogers as a teenaged Elvis Costello fan in the 70s. But after these many years of Shania Twain and the truly Satanic anti-Hank incarnated as "Garth Brooks" — well, Kenny Rogers almost starts sounding soulful.
Here's the complete list of this week's major new album releases, courtesy AMG:
Richard Ashcroft Keys to the World [Bonus DVD] Virgin
Alternative Pop/Rock, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock
Ben Harper Both Sides of the Gun Virgin
Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Singer/Songwriter, Jam Bands
Loose Fur Born Again in the USA Drag City
Indie Rock, Post-Rock/Experimental
Prince 3121 Universal
Pop/Rock, Urban, Funk
Anti-Flag For Blood and Empire RCA
Punk Revival, Punk-Pop
Anna Caterina Atonacci Era La Notte Naive
Baroque Vocal Music
Band of Horses Everything All the Time Sub Pop
Indie Rock
Blight Detroit: The Dream Is Dead Touch & Go
American Underground, Hardcore Punk, Noise-Rock
Luka Bloom Innocence Cooking Vinyl
Alternative Folk, Contemporary Folk, Singer/Songwriter, Urban Folk
Chamber Domaine Rorem: The Auden Songs; The Santa Fe Songs Black Box Classics
Contemporary Vocal Music
Chicago Chicago XXX Rhino
Pop/Rock, Adult Contemporary
Cocteau Twins Lullabies to Violaine 4AD
Dream Pop, Alternative Pop/Rock, Post-Punk
Elvis Costello The Juliet Letters [2-CD] Rhino
College Rock, Singer/Songwriter, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Baroque Pop, Classical Pop, Chamber Pop, Chamber Music, Classical
The Essex Green Cannibal Sea Merge
Indie Pop, Chamber Pop, Neo-Psychedelia
From First to Last Heroine Epitaph
Post-Hardcore
Teddy Geiger Underage Thinking Sony
Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Pop/Rock, Contemporary Singer/Songwriter
Howe Gelb Sno Angel Like You Thrill Jockey
Indie Rock, Alternative Country-Rock, Gospel Choir
Michel Legrand American Piano Music Warner Classics
Post-Romantic, Modern and Contemporary Piano Music
Sondre Lerche and the Faces Down Quartet Duper Sessions Astralwerks
Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Vocal Jazz
Liars Drum's Not Dead Mute
Indie Rock, Experimental Rock, Post-Rock/Experimental
Ashley MacIsaac Pride Koch
Indie Rock
Madlib Beat Konducta, Vol. 1-2 Stones Throw
Turntablism, Underground Rap, Hip-Hop
Mates of State Bring It Back Barsuk
Indie Rock
Mclusky Mcluskyism Too Pure
Post-Punk, Indie Rock
Men, Women & Children Men, Women & Children Reprise
Alternative Dance, Alternative Pop/Rock
Murs Murray's Revenge Record Collection
Underground Rap, Hip-Hop, Alternative Rap, West Coast Rap
My Chemical Romance Life on the Murder Scene [CD/2DVD] Reprise
Post-Hardcore, Emo, Punk-Pop, Alternative Pop/Rock
The New Amsterdams Story Like a Scar Vagrant
Indie Rock, Sadcore, Emo
Margaret Leng Tan John Cage: The Works of Piano, Vol. 7 Mode
Contemporary Piano Music
University of St. Thomas Wind Ensemble Road to the Stars Innova
Contemporary Music for Wind Ensemble
The Outfield Any Time Now Sidewinder Music
Pop/Rock, Album Rock
Quasi When the Going Gets Dark Touch and Go
Indie Rock, Lo-Fi
Lou Rawls The Best of Lou Rawls: The Capitol Jazz & Blues Sessions Blue Note
Vocal Jazz, Modern Electric Blues, Southern Gospel
Kenny Rogers Water & Bridges Capitol Nashville
Country-Pop, Adult Contemporary, Contemporary Country
Josh Rouse Subtitulo Nettwerk/Bedroom Classics
Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Singer/Songwriter
Royksopp Royksopp's Night Out Astralwerks
Trip-Hop, Dance-Pop, Ambient Breakbeat, Downtempo
Tom Russell Love and Fear Hightone
Americana, Singer/Songwriter
Shoplifting Body Stories Kill Rock Stars
Indie Rock, Garage Punk, Riot Grrrl
The Sounds
Dying to Say This to You New Line
Indie Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock
Southern Culture on the Skids Doublewide and Live Yep Roc
Psychobilly, Indie Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock
Television Personalities My Dark Places Domino
Indie Rock, Indie Pop
Lobi Traore Lobi Traore Group Astralwerks
African Folk, World Fusion
Aki Tsuyuko Hokane Thrill Jockey
Electronica
Urban Mystic Ghetto Revelations, Vol. 2 Warner Bros.
Contemporary R&B, Urban
Various Artists Idol Tryouts Two: Ghostly International, Vol. 2 Ghostly International
Indie Electronic, Ambient Techno, Left-Field House, Indie Rock, Minimal Techno
Original Soundtrack Lost Varese Sarabande
Original Score, TV Soundtracks
Young People All at Once Too Pure
Indie Rock, Experimental Rock
- New Album Releases, Week of 3-21-2006
- Published: March 22, 2006
- Type: News
- Section: Music
- Filed Under: Music: News
- Part of a feature: New CDs
- Writer: Al Barger
- Al Barger's BC Writer page
- Al Barger's personal site
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Comments on this articleComments
Can't argue against that one. I'm also real big on "This Offer Is Unrepeatable." That one's a really unique little bit of kick-assery.
An exciting book to share with you: China's global reach: markets, multinationals, and globalization by a high-profile Chinese thinker george zhibin gu. How do I feel about it? Overpowering. It is arguably the very best book on China and current global affairs. I was happy to run into it.
Juliet Letters is definitely more experimental and avant-garde than Painted from Memory, but the voice on Painted is a bit better and the songs are of a different type. I enjoy both.
Chicago XXX? Is this referring to: a) its sexual content; b) its alcohol content; or c) the number of Chicago albums I DON'T own?
i tell you, the one Chicago album to own, no..wait, two albums to own are:
1. Chicago Transit Authority
2. Live at Carnegie Hall
and if you have to pick between the two, just spend the extra bucks and get the live one. it's killer.
I really didn't like Juliet back when it came out, but since then I've grown to appreciate it more. I'll have to pick this up to finally complete the Rhino reissues set.
i seem to remember seeing EC perform The Juliet Letters on some sorta tv show. mtv or something.
anybody else seen that or am i halucinating?
I seem to recall him performing with a string quartet as part of a Kurt Weill tribute, but that's all. No cable though. Actually, no TV, leastwise of my own.
I also remember EC and string quartet performing on TV--I don't think it was mtv, but for the life of me I can't remember what is was. I seem to recall there were a few songs featured, which makes me think it was a PBS show as opposed to apprearance on late night show, etc.
Last time I saw Elvis (touring for When I Was Cruel), I took the booklet from The Juliet Letters for him to autograph, figuring he'd be impressed with me being extra cool for showing up with his classical album.
Which was fine, but I also ended getting Steve Nieve to sign it too, despite the fact that this was one of the few Elvis albums he has NOT been on. "You want me to sign that?" But he did graciously oblige me.
Maybe as a favor you could get Steve to sign the Chicago album too!
Anyways, here's the imdb pagefor the TV show I was referring to.
...which led me to search it for the Juliet letters. Here it is:
Thanks, godoggo--those were the kind of things that would drive me crazy if I couldn't come to a total recall on them.
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"Jacksons, Monk and Rowe" has always been a favorite from "Juliet."