NEWS

New Album Releases, 7-10-2007: Crowded House, They Might Be Giants, Smashing Pumpkins

Written by Al Barger
Published July 12, 2007
Part of New CDs

Woo-doggies, this week we get Time on Earth, the first new Crowded House album in a decade. I haven't heard this yet, but Neil Finn created the greatest song John Lennon never wrote. Indeed, "Don't Dream It's Over" will go head to head even with anything Lennon did write.

The problem is that Neil Finn just ain't much of a rock star. Sure, he's one of the greatest songwriters of his generation, but where's the controversy? He's never been hooked on heroin, or picked up DUIs, got arrested with underaged girls nor committed suicide. He's not even gay. Some rock star!

They Might Be GiantsThey Might Be Giants have a new album The Else, with production by the famous Dust Brothers. Having listened to this a dozen times, I don't hear that much of a difference for their presence.

The album's pretty good overall, perhaps a little above They Might Be Giants fairly high average. The first two songs in particular are real sharp, obvious candidates for a future box set. Overall though, the album seems relatively homogenized or normal. That's not a compliment. These songs have some good hooks and choruses, and good orchestration, but they nearly entirely lack the unique quirky geekdom that really makes the band special.

Billy Corgan is putting out a nominal Smashing Pumpkins record called Zeitgeist, some years after it had passed him by. Still, his album is #2 currently at Amazon, so he's obviously still got some juice.

Here's the complete list of this week's major new releases, courtesy AMG:

Crowded House pictureCrowded House Time on Earth ATO
Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Singer/Songwriter

Interpol Our Love to Admire Capitol
Indie Rock

Mark Ronson Version RCA
Alternative Dance, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Pop/Rock, Urban, Hip-Hop

The Smashing Pumpkins Zeitgeist Reprise / Wea
Alternative Pop/Rock

Spoon Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga Merge
Indie Rock

They Might Be Giants The Else Zoe
Indie Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock

Against Me! New Wave Sire
Punk Revival

Aly & AJ Insomniatic Hollywood
Teen Pop, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Dance-Pop

B-Side Players Fire in the Youth Concord Picante
Latin Rock, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock

Bad Religion New Maps of Hell Epitaph
Punk

Beatallica Sgt. Hetfield's Motorbreath Pub Band Oglio
Heavy Metal, Hard Rock

Emmanuelle Bertrand Saint-Saëns: Sonate No. 1; Suite, Op. 16 Harmonia Mundi France
Post-Romantic Chamber Music

Blossom Toes If Only for a Moment [Bonus Tracks] Sunbeam
British Psychedelia, Psychedelic

Blossom Toes We Are Ever So Clean [Bonus Tracks] Sunbeam
British Psychedelia, Psychedelic

Buffalo Tom Three Easy Pieces New West
Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock

Dance Club Massacre Feast of the Blood Monsters Metal Blade
Math Rock, Heavy Metal, Thrash

Danzig The Lost Tracks of Danzig Evilive
Alternative Metal, Heavy Metal, Hard Rock

Darkest Hour Deliver Us Victory
Heavy Metal, Death Metal/Black Metal, Thrash

Cole Deggs & the Lonesome Cole Deggs & The Lonesome SBMG Nashville
Contemporary Country, Country-Rock

Nick Drake Family Tree Tsunami Label Group
British Folk-Rock, Progressive Folk, British Folk, Folk-Rock, Singer/Songwriter

Roky Erickson You're Gonna Miss Me [Original Soundtrack] Palm Pictures
Garage Rock, Psychedelic, Rock & Roll, Proto-Punk

The For Carnation Promised Works Touch & Go
Experimental Rock, Indie Rock, Post-Rock/Experimental

Gogol Bordello Super Taranta! Side One Dummy
Gypsy, Punk Revival, Alternative Pop/Rock, Obscuro

Gothic Voices The Garden of Zephirus Hyperion
Renaissance Vocal and Choral Music

The Gourds Noble Creatures Yep Roc
Alternative Country-Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock

Great Lakes Myth Society Compass Rose Bouquet Quack!
Indie Rock, Indie Pop, Folk-Rock

Jesse Harris Feel Velour
Singer/Songwriter, Americana

Icarus Line Black Line at the Golden Coast Dim Mak
Punk Metal, Indie Rock, Punk Revival, Hardcore Punk

Jason Isbell Sirens of the Ditch New West
Alternative Country-Rock, Roots Rock, Southern Rock, Hard Rock

Kool & the Gang Still Kool New Door
Funk, Urban

Tracy Lawrence The Very Best of Tracy Lawrence Atlantic/Rhino
New Traditionalist, Honky Tonk

Lez Zeppelin Lez Zeppelin Emanation
American Trad Rock

Ministry Rio Grande Dub Megaforce/13th Planet
Industrial Metal, Industrial Dance, Alternative Metal

The Monkees Headquarters [Deluxe Edition] Rhino
Sunshine Pop, Pop/Rock, Pop, Psychedelic Pop, Bubblegum

The Monkees Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. [Deluxe Edition] Rhino
Sunshine Pop, Psychedelic Pop, Pop/Rock, Pop, Bubblegum

Viktoria Mullova Bach: Sonatas Onyx
Baroque Chamber Music

Oh No! Oh My! Between the Devil and the Sea Dim Mak
Indie Pop, Twee Pop

Luciana Souza Osvaldo Golijov: Oceana Deutsche Grammophon
Contemporary Choral and Orchestral Music

Tallis Scholars English Madrigals Gimell
Renaissance Choral Music

Original Soundtrack Hairspray [2007 Original Soundtrack] New Line
Soundtracks, Musicals

Original Soundtrack Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix Warner Bros.
Original Score

Bobby Osborne Bluegrass Melodies Rounder
Traditional Bluegrass

Patton Oswalt Werewolves and Lollipops [CD/DVD] Sub Pop
Standup Comedy, Observational Humor

Lee Perry & The Upsetters Ape-ology [Bonus Tracks] Sanctuary Trojan Us
Roots Reggae, Dub, Political Reggae

John Phillips Jack of Diamonds Varese Sarabande
Singer/Songwriter, Soft Rock, Country-Rock, Pop/Rock

Kim Richey Chinese Boxes Vanguard
Contemporary Singer/Songwriter

Chris & Rich Robinson Brothers of a Feather: Live at the Roxy Eagle
Rock & Roll, American Trad Rock, Roots Rock

St. Vincent Marry Me Beggar's Banquet
Alternative Singer/Songwriter, Indie Pop

Stephen Stills Just Roll Tape: April 26th, 1968 Rhino
Folk-Rock, Singer/Songwriter

Us3 Say What!? V2
Jazz-Rap, Club/Dance, Hip-Hop

Various Artists Healing the Divide Anti
Asian Folk, African Folk, Throat Singing, Spiritual, Indian Classical, Worldbeat, Singer/Songwriter, Neo-Classical

M. Ward Duet for Guitars #2 [Bonus Tracks] Merge
Alternative Singer/Songwriter, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Indie Rock

Unreformed hawkish Hoosier hillbilly and sometimes candidate Al Barger runs the still squeezin' down the psychodelic Kentucky moonshine at MoreThings.com, what with the paranoid religious visions and the Pentacostal music and visions of God and Sarah Palin and anarchy running amok and such. Somebody oughta call the cops to report his out of control freedom of conscience. Till they come to take him away somewhere where he can't hurt anyone else, you can check out his weekly column of NEW ALBUM RELEASES.
Keep reading for information and comments on this article, and add some feedback of your own!
Buy from Amazon.com
Time on Earth Time on Earth
Crowded House
Music,
The Else The Else
They Might Be Giants
Music,
Zeitgeist Zeitgeist
Smashing Pumpkins
Music,
Sgt. Hetfield's Motorbreath Pub Band Sgt. Hetfield's Motorbreath Pub Band
Music,
Lez Zeppelin Lez Zeppelin
Lez Zeppelin
Music,

New Album Releases, 7-10-2007: Crowded House, They Might Be Giants, Smashing Pumpkins
Published: July 12, 2007
Type: News
Section: Music
Filed Under: Music: Roots Rock, Music: Rock, Music: Progressive Rock, Music: Pop, Music: News, Music: Classic Rock and Oldies, Music: Alternative Rock, Music: Adult Alternative, Music: Acoustic
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

#1 — July 12, 2007 @ 13:11PM — JC Mosquito

Much of Neil Finn can go toe to toe with Lennon, or Macca, or both, even. "Take the Weather with You" - yeah, I imagine Paul's got that in the "Songs I Wish I'd Written" file.

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