New Album Releases 08/22/08: Billy Bragg, Flight Of The Conchords, Replacements Reissues, Ashlee Simpson, Barry Adamson, Elbow, Stanley Jordan, Love, Marilyn Crispell and More

For those who hadn't heard, this past weekend was National Record Store Day, an event put together by independent music retailers, presumably in an effort to draw some traffic back into the stores. The event was marked here at Blogcritics in an article by our own Mark Saleski, which not surprisingly drew some debate in the comments section (by some of the usual suspects who often comment there).

The thing is, a lot of us old-timers who have been doing this record geek thing for awhile simply miss the old record store experience. As such, we are asking you download-happy young whipper-snappers to go easy on us, okay? Go ahead and download your hard drives out. Just grant us our right to wallow in a little record store nostalgia.

Of course, it would help an awful lot if the record labels would actually release something to give us a reason to venture back there, wouldn't it now?

Here at BC's New Releases column, we will be the first to admit that new music (at least in significant amounts) has been in somewhat short supply so far this year. Still, it is our obligation to point you, our readers, towards those few lights out there amidst the darkness.

So on that note, here are a few good reasons to visit your friendly neighborhood record store this week.

For starters, there is Mr. Love & Justice, the first new album from Billy Bragg since 2002. Bragg is always good for a few sharp political insights, and this album is said to be a return to form for the veteran.

Speaking of veterans, Ryko/Twin Tone are spearheading a catalog re-haul for the Replacements, including a deluxe edition of their seminal release Let It Be. Another notable reissue is the two-disc collectors edition of Love's Forever Changes. This often overlooked masterpiece — cited by many critics as one of the best rock albums ever made — gets an overdue deluxe overhaul here.

Some of the more noteworthy new music this week includes the debut from Flight of the Conchords, who are best known for the HBO series of the same name. Ashlee Simpson is once again busy reinventing herself as a retro/dance/wave-pop something or another on her third album Bittersweet World.

A few of our fellow Blogcritics also weighed in with some of their thoughts on this week's new music. Pico cites the "cinematic quality" of Barry Adamson's Back to The Cat, drawing comparisons to Issac Hayes and Ennio Morricone among others in his review. David R. Perry calls the dream-pop of Elbow's The Seldom Seen Kid "some of the best of their career." Jordan Richardson earlier this week enthused about the way Stanley Jordan's environmentally themed State Of Nature "celebrates life" while also exploring our part in the changing climate.

Article Author: Glen Boyd

You'll find Blogcritics assistant music editor Glen Boyd sharing his Thoughtmares on his personal blogs The World Wide Glen, and The Rockologist. In a previous life, Glen was a music professional and journalist whose work has appeared in The Rocket, SPIN, Pulse!, and The Source. …

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