Best likely sounding pick this week is Lyle Lovett and His Large Band, It's Not Big It's Large. This is Lovett's eighth original studio album, and his first in four years. As suggested by the title and the album cover, this goes back to the big band/Western swing of the 1990 Large Band album. He starts with a cover of Lester Young's "Tickle Toe" before heading off into his original songs. Lovett's never particularly been a big commercial powerhouse, but I note that this album is as high as #3 currently on Amazon.
Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals Lifeline is Harper's eighth album in twelve years. Those criminals on the album cover don't look so innocent, though. The promo guys are making a big point of how this album was recorded quickly (seven days) without much in the way of modern high tech recording gear. Listening to some samples, I don't hear anything particularly memorable. "In the Colors" distinctly sounds like a watered down Van Morrison pastiche. "Needed You Tonight" sounds like imitation Otis Redding. He'd probably have been better off just covering Morrison and Redding.
Photograph: The Very Best of Ringo Starr is the first Ringo solo compilation since 1975. This contains all of those excellent songs, a couple left off that original vinyl album, and a few more recent things. When the Beatles broke up, Ringo was actually the biggest solo act for the first couple of years. That was in significant part because of songs written by his old bandmates. These early solo songs were quite good, and particularly well chosen and engineered for Ringo's voice and persona. "I'm the Greatest" for one would likely have come off far less effective if it had been sung by John Lennon, the author. This is some excellent stuff.
Here's the complete list of this week's major new album releases, courtesy AMG:
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