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From Eminem one week, to a pair of double M's the next, welcome to another week in new album releases.
Our two pair of MM's this week couldn't come from further ends of the musical spectrum. On one end of the room we have sweet Mandy Moore, and on the other we have the Antichrist himself (or so he would love you to believe) in Marilyn Manson.
Our own Donald Gibson will be along shortly with the lowdown on Ms. Moore. We've also got Pico waiting in the wings with his report on a live jazz reunion of sorts with Gary Burton and a quartet of esteemed guests.
In the meantime, shock rocker and all around evil guy Marilyn Manson is back with The High End of Low. I'm not really sure how much a guy like Manson can really shock us anymore. I mean, since he was last heard from, music fans have been subjected to the pure horror of Miley and the Jo-Bros, right?
Still, Manson gives it his best shot here, complete with song titles like "I Want to Kill You Like They Do in the Movies" and "I Have to Look Up Just to See Hell." So are you scared, yet? Personally, I liked this kind of stuff a lot better thirty years ago when it had an actual melody and was called Alice Cooper. In the meantime, Marilyn's fans can take joy in knowing that Twiggy Ramirez is back for this latest ride into the darkness.
Speaking of scary, Pittsburgh goofballs Black Moth Super Rainbow are back with more of their syntho-stoner brand of psychedelic bubblegum on Eating Us. Next week, it's Elvis Costello and maybe, just maybe, Marilyn Manson's return means hell will actually freeze over and we'll see that Neil Young Archives box. Now, here's Donald Gibson to talk about Mandy Moore.
Nearly two years since the release of Wild Hope, an inspired and impressive album that signaled a new beginning in her music career, Mandy Moore continues to progress as an artist, summoning a thoroughly engaging and precocious pop record with Amanda Leigh.
Impressionable melodies and layered harmonies abound, complementing an eclectic assortment of songs. Standouts include the lush serenity of “Merrimack River,” the offbeat whimsicality of “Pocket Philosopher,” and the utter irresistibility of “I Could Break Your Heart Any Day of the Week.” Whereas Wild Hope represented Moore having found her own creative voice, Amanda Leigh reveals her far more secure in expressing that voice. By enlivening compelling, often-quirky songs while exploring imaginative sounds and melodies, she has delivered her best album to date.
The most vital vibraphonist in jazz since 1960 (with the possible exception of Bobby Hutcherson), Gary Burton reassembled his old Quartet for an extended tour a couple of years ago and this is the live document from their stopover at Oakland's famed Yoshi's club. Joining Burton are a couple of his old sidemen who went on to make a little jazz history themselves: electric bassist Steve Swallow and all-world guitarist Pat Metheny, along with Metheny's exciting young drummer Antonio Sanchez.
The band runs through a strong array old material by Metheny, Swallow, Chick Corea, and Keith Jarrett. All done in the delicately textured, nuanced and seamless quality that is the Burton trademark since the late sixties. Three old masters and one new one getting together on the road is a road trip record you don't want to miss.
Here are all of this week's new album releases courtesy of All Music Guide:
Grizzly Bear
Veckatimest
Warp
Experimental Rock, Indie Rock, Post-Rock/Experimental
Marilyn Manson
The High End of Low
Nothing
Industrial Metal, Alternative Metal, Heavy Metal
Mandy Moore
Amanda Leigh
Storefront
Contemporary Singer/Songwriter
Phoenix
Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Glassnote
Indie Rock, Alternative Dance
A's
The A's/A Woman's Got the Power
American Beat
Power Pop, New Wave
Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women
Dave Alvin and the Guilty Women
Yep Roc
Contemporary Singer/Songwriter, Alternative Country-Rock
Beausoleil/Michael Doucet
Make the Veiller
Fuel 2000
Traditional Cajun, Zydeco
Black Moth Super Rainbow
Eating Us
Graveface
Indie Electronic, Indie Pop
Bloodhorse
Horizoner
Translation Los
Stoner Metal, Doom Metal, Sludge Metal
Boyz II Men
Cooleyhighharmony [Expanded Edition]
Motown
Contemporary R&B, New Jack Swing, Adult Contemporary R&B
James Brown
The Singles, Vol. 7: 1970-1972
Hip-O Select/Polydor
Funk, Soul
Dave Brubeck
Time Out [50th Anniversary Legacy Edition]
Sony Legacy
Cool, West Coast Jazz
The Gary Burton Quartet Revisted
Quartet Live
Concord
Post-Bop
Bury Your Dead
It's Nothing Personal
Victory
Hardcore Punk, Death Metal/Black Metal
City Center
City Center
Type
Indie Electronic, Indie Pop
Crash Kings
Crash Kings
Motown
Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, American Trad Rock
Creedence Clearwater Revival
The Concert
Fantasy
Rock & Roll, Pop/Rock, Country-Rock
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Creedence Clearwater Revival Covers the Classics
Fantasy
Pop/Rock, Rock & Roll, AM Pop
Miles Davis
Sketches of Spain [50th Anniversary Legacy Edition]
Sony Legacy
Cool
Dimitri from Paris/The Idjut Boys
Night Dubbin'
K7
Post-Disco, Club/Dance, Contemporary R&B, Funk
Thomas Dolby
The Singular Thomas Dolby
EMI
New Wave, Synth Pop, Pop/Rock
Electrik Red
How to Be a Lady, Vol. 1
Def Jam
Contemporary R&B, Pop, Dance-Pop
Sammy Hagar
Street Machine [Bonus Tracks]
Rock Candy
Arena Rock, Heavy Metal, Hard Rock, Pop-Metal, Album Rock
Philippe Herreweghe
Bach: Mass in B minor
Virgin
Baroque Choral Music
The Intelligence
Fake Surfers
In The Red
Experimental Rock, Noise-Rock, Lo-Fi
Kronos Quartet
Floodplain
Nonesuch
Contemporary Chamber Music
Gary Lewis & the Playboys
Complete Liberty Singles
Collectors' Choice Music
AM Pop
Lil' Flip
Certified
Dirty South, Southern Rap, Hardcore Rap, Gangsta Rap
Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas
Lindstrøm & Prins Thomas II
Eskimo
Ambient Techno, Experimental Techno, Experimental Rock
Andrew Litton
Tchaikovsky: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 6; The Tempest; Romeo and Juliet
Virgin Classics
Romantic Orchestral Music
Julian Marley
Awake
Tuff Gong
Contemporary Reggae
Master Musicians of Bukkake
Totem One
Conspiracy
Improvisation, Worldbeat, Avant-Garde
Charles Mingus
Mingus Ah Um [50th Anniversary Legacy Edition]
Sony Legacy
Hard Bop, Post-Bop, Avant-Garde, Progressive Jazz
Neaera
Omnicide: Creation Unleashed
Metal Blade
Death Metal/Black Metal
Noisettes
Wild Young Hearts
Mercury UK
Indie Rock
Xiayin Wang
Scriabin: Piano Music
Naxos
Classical Keyboard Music
Tito Puente
Dance Mania [Legacy Edition]
Sony Legacy
Afro-Cuban Jazz, Mambo, Latin Jazz
Mason Ruffner
Mason Ruffner/Gypsy Blood
American Beat
Rock & Roll, Memphis Blues
Scratch
Loss 4 Wordz
Gold Dust
Underground Rap
Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens
What Have You Done, My Brother?
Daptone
Retro-Soul, Black Gospel
Michelle Shocked
Soul of My Soul
Mighty Sound
Contemporary Singer/Songwriter
Sarah Siskind
Say It Louder
Request/Thirty Tigers
Contemporary Singer/Songwriter, Contemporary Folk
Slakah the Beatchild
Soul Movement, Vol. 1
BBE
Left-Field Hip-Hop, Neo-Soul
Luciana Souza
Tide
Verve
Brazilian Jazz, Bossa Nova
Sunn
Monoliths and Dimensions
Southern Lord
Doom Metal, Experimental Rock, Noise, Experimental, Heavy Metal, Avant-Garde
Super Furry Animals
Dark Days/Light Years
Rough Trade
Britpop, Alternative Pop/Rock, Neo-Psychedelia, Indie Pop
Various Artists
The Man of Somebody's Dreams: A Tribute to the Songs of Chris Gaffney
Yep Roc
Contemporary Singer/Songwriter, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Alternative Country-Rock
Various Artists
Mark O'Connor: String Quartets Nos. 2 & 3
OMAC
Contemporary Chamber Music
Various Artists
Not Given Lightly: A Tribute to Giant Golden Book of New Zealand's Alternative Music Scene
Morr Music/M.M.
Indie Pop, Indie Electronic, Indie Rock
Various Artists
Twenty First Century Twenty First Year
Luaka Bop
Psychedelic Soul, Foreign Language Rock, Brazilian Pop, Tropicalia, Obscuro, Samba, Latin Pop, MPB, Neo-Psychedelia
Johnny Winter
The Johnny Winter Anthology
Shout
Slide Guitar Blues, Modern Electric Texas Blues, Blues-Rock, Modern Electric Blues, Album Rock, Hard Rock, Boogie Rock, Arena Rock, Electric Texas Blues, Electric Blues
Wand
Hard Knox
Ecstatic Peace
Alternative Singer/Songwriter, Indie Rock
Jenny Owen Youngs
Transmitter Failure
RCA/Nettwerk
Contemporary Singer/Songwriter, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock
Zap Mama
ReCreation
Heads Up
Acappella, Afro-Pop, Worldbeat, World Fusion
