Does this ever happen to you: as soon as I listen to a record I acquired for the first time, I'm writing a review in my head. Sometimes there's so much to say, I've written what feels like War And Peace by the time it's all done. Other times, all I want to say about an album can be fully expressed in just a few sentences (or already fully expressed the way I view it by someone else).

Anyway, there's a backlog of new release CD's sitting here that I don't want to slip through the cracks of my consciousness as I move on to new listening adventures before I say a word or two about them, so Ol' Pico here is going to introduce a handy little mechanism designed to solve that problem: it's called, ta-da, "Quickies."

Think of this as sort of the opposite of "One Track Mind;" instead of a whole article devoted to one song, "Quickies" have only a couple of paragraphs devoted to an entire album. Sometimes, brevity is bliss.

The maiden version of Quickies runs from ear confection to ear infection (but blissed infection, natch). Let's get this series in — ahem — motion:

Machan Motion Of Love
Singer/songwriter Machan's resume reads like Cheryl Crow's before 1994; an in-demand backup singer for heavies like Sting, Pink Floyd, George Benson, Govt Mule, Pat Benatar and Hiroshima. And now, like Crow did back in '93, she seems to be making an earnest attempt at a solo career with her own material and at the front of the stage. How earnest, you ask? When you bring in guys like John Scofield, John Medeski, Randy Brecker and Steely Dan hired guns to make a record, you must mean business.

Machan's style of music can best be described as jazz-pop with a light Brazilian feel and the melodies are consistently catchy and intelligent, although the lyrics sometimes get a little cliché laden. Her voice isn't going to win an audition to The Manhattan Transfer, but it's quite soothing and sweet-sounding; most importantly her songs fit her singing style well. It remains to be seen if Machan's career ends up anything approaching Crow's, post-1994, but I can definitely find myself in the mood for this record more than most of Cheryl's. Basia left her fans stranded a dozen years ago; Machan's ship has arrived to pick up some of the survivors.

Mark Saleski's take on this CD is worth a read, if you are in need of a second opinion.

Blackfield Blackfield II
A lot of hay has been made of Porcupine Tree's 2007 release Fear Of A Blank Planet, and yes, I've joined in the fray. It's a solid effort from a band that hadn't stumbled much to begin with. But PT's leader Steve Wilson is just too talented to stand pat with Fear being his only contribution for this year. For the second time in about as many years, he's gotten together with Israeli singer/songwriter Aviv Geffen to collaborate on a more mellow, mainstream sounding album than Wilson's prog rock alter ego.