First things first: I have a new home for Overlooked Alternatives (as well as all my other music and other entertainment-related musings): Lookout For Hope! I've separated this out from my personal content, which is still housed at Known Johnson because, well, I felt a little self-conscious talking about all this music-stuff while gushing about my amazing daughter - I felt it took away from the importance of that writing and the meaning of that site. So, please, head on over to both sites whenever you feel like it, and be sure and stop by Lookout For Hope where I'll be keeping my random thoughts on the world of music and crap like that much more updated than I usually did on Known Johnson.
Now on to this week's new stuff:
The Evens - Get Evens: Ian Mackaye, most well-known for his long-time stint with Fugazi, and Amy Farina, of the lesser-known Warmers, pair up on baritone guitar and drums, respectively, again for this second album of catchy, if slightly obtuse, indie-rock. The first, self-titled album from a couple of years ago turned out one of my favorite songs from that year, "Around the Corner," and I hear great things about this one, including that it's a better album overall.
Foo Fighters - Skin And Bones: I'm torn on whether I should actually recommend this or not, but here I am, talking about it, but maybe it can serve as a warning: there's also a DVD of this same show being sneakily released Nov. 28 with a lot more songs on it. If you just need a cheap, quick fix of live, acoustic Foo Fighters, this will do, but I'd suggest waiting for three weeks and getting the DVD - and then fire up your DVD-ripping software to get ALL of the songs for your iPod. The dude does not abide by nasty tactics like this of releasing the CD and DVD a few weeks apart to trick people into buying both. You have been warned!
Frank Zappa - Trance-Fusion: Reportedly Zappa's final project before he died, Trance-Fusion somehow remained in limbo for 13 years. The third (or fifth, depending on how you look at it) piece of his guitar-oriented albums (Shut Up and Play Yer Guitar series and Guitar being the others,) Trance-Fusion apparently focuses on material gathered from 1984-1988. Will there be more stuff like this plundered from the Zappa vaults? Who knows? There's probably plenty of material to dig through, but without Zappa there to make the decisions, who knows if the quality will remain as consistent.
Article comments
1 - Mark Saleski
you would think gail would make decent decisions about the quality of Zappa releases. on the other hand, i would have thought there was much more in the vaults that has surfaced so far.
2 - DJRadiohead
Zappa having been so freaking experimental and genuinely weird, I am not sure anyone can properly make sense out of what might still be there. That material might not make sense to anyone but Zappa, in a certain sense.
3 - Mark Saleski
sorta true...i mean, i'm not sure i would have known what to do with the tapes of Civilization Phase III.
4 - DJRadiohead
At a certain point, with his material being what it is, you almost take a "release it all" approach and put it out in volumes or a "release none" approach because it would be damn near impossible to release it in a coherent fashion.
5 - Taloran
I read on the official Zappa website years ago that the family trust planned to release a great deal of his material over time. I may be misquoting, as it was a long time ago and the text is no longer there, but I *think* it said that FZ managed to put the finishing touches on some 500 hours of unreleased recordings in the months preceding his death.
That alone would make him one of the most prolific artists in history - add that to the hundred or so official CDs released thus far, and my guess is not even Ellington could match his career output.
6 - Mark Saleski
i don't know if this stuff was ever recorded, but i would love to hear some behind the scenes tapes of Zappa's band making initial attempts at his more difficult tunes....things like "Approximate".
7 - JR
There's also the problem of the different versions that FZ released himself. Has anyone else noticed that one of his mid-seventies Warner Bros. albums (Sleep Dirt or Studio Tan, I don't have 'em handy right now) was re-issued on CD with vocals added? I preferred the original LP version.
8 - JR
Mark Saleski, #6: Rehearsals and alternate takes...mmmm!(drool)
9 - chickyraptor
If behind the scenes & rehearsals are what you'r'e after, get "Joe's Domage", a recent release that consists of Zappa rehearsing his Petit Wazoo band.
A better choice would be "Imaginary Diseases", with Zappa taking the Petit Wazoo band on the road.
An upcoming (a few weeks) release is "MOFO", the Making of Freak Out, available in 4 and 2 CD versions.