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Just when you thought it was safe for us guys to venture outdoors again — as all the hoopla over the Sex And The City movie has died down some — comes this week's batch of new album releases, packing more girl power than your ex-girlfriend's last crying jag.
Speaking of exes, Alanis Morissette just got dumped again. And you know what that means…
Whether her new Flavors of Entanglement packs the same formidable female wallop as Jagged Little Pill did or not remains to be seen. So no need to run for the hills just yet, guys. Just remember, you've been warned.
Emmylou Harris is also back with All I Intended to Be, where her sweet country tunes are said to be sounding better than ever. My Morning Jacket's long anticipated Evil Urges also hits stores this week, and finds the southern jam-masters stretching out into some decidedly funky sounding new territory.
Tom Johnson will be along shortly to talk about the new one from Martha Wainwright, as will Pico to tell us all about the new solo disc from Steely Dan's Walter Becker. But first, we welcome the latest member of our revolving cast of guest writers making picks to the fray, as Donald Gibson shares with us his thoughts on the new solo album from second generation Wallflower Jakob Dylan.
Jakob Dylan has garnered comparisons to his father since the Wallflowers released their debut album in 1992. Belonging to a group, though, afforded him some measure of autonomy and, in a certain sense, anonymity. With his first solo effort, Seeing Things, he now lays his individual identity as a musician out on the line. It’s a bold move, considering that this album will sit alongside the likes of Blonde On Blonde and Blood On the Tracks in music bins across the land, all filed under one surname: Dylan.
With stark, windswept songs and Rick Rubin’s unvarnished production, Jakob Dylan doesn’t disappoint. His solemn singing voice is front and center, lending a sense of immediacy to the lyrics. Minimalist bass and guitar – acoustic, for the most part – serve as a lattice beneath the vocal, creating an expansive, ominous tone. It’s a compelling album overall and there’s something to be said for a man who steps outside his comfort zone to test the scope of his potential. Jakob Dylan likely hasn’t reached the limits of his creativity with this work, but his journey thus far sounds worthwhile.
The guitar-playing half of the Steely Dan duo steps out with his first solo album since 1994 and only his second one overall. This one is mostly themed around the Bob Marley-era reggae music that both he and erstwhile partner Donald Fagen have dug since they were making hit records in rock back in the seventies. A lot of the times Becker seems content to just ride on the tightly constructed but light island rhythms…perhaps a little too content, as we've come to expect heavier stuff from Becker. He does rise up to the occasion at times ("Paging Audrey," "Somebody's Saturday Night"), but ultimately, Circus Money is for the Dan fans only.
Girl power to the rescue – first Aimee Mann last week, this week it's the always reliable Emmylou Harris and the sophomore album from the sister of Rufus, and daughter of Loudon III and Kate McGarrigle. This ain't no wimpy Lilith Fair material, either. Martha may be blessed with the pipes of an angel, but she sings about real-world angst that leaves you white-knuckled and nervous. She may just be Aimee Mann's spiritual opposite – where Mann populates her soundscapes with the desperate and the downtrodden, Wainwright's world is filled with the kind of people who leave every scene bruised and kicking, and maybe fretting over a broken nail or two with a sly grin. She's got spunk, and she's got a voice, like Emmylou Harris, that'll leave you weak at the knees at times. I bet that's just how she likes it, too.
Here are all of this week's new album releases courtesy of All Music Guide:
Walter Becker
Circus Money
5 Over 12
Jazz-Rock, Pop/Rock, Soft Rock
Jakob Dylan
Seeing Things
Sony
Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Singer/Songwriter
The Fratellis
Here We Stand
Cherry Tree/Interscope/Island
Indie Rock
Emmylou Harris
All I Intended to Be
Nonesuch
Alternative Country, Contemporary Country
Joan as Policewoman
To Survive
Reveal
Alternative Singer/Songwriter, Indie Rock
Lil Wayne
Tha Carter III
Universal Motown
Southern Rap, Hardcore Rap
Alanis Morissette
Flavors of Entanglement
Maverick
Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Alternative Singer/Songwriter
My Morning Jacket
Evil Urges
ATO
Alternative Pop/Rock, Alternative Country-Rock, Neo-Psychedelia
Adele
19 [Bonus CD]
Sony
Adult Alternative Pop/Rock
Afroman
Greatest Hitz Live
Siccness.net
Underground Rap, Alternative Rap, Comedy Rap, West Coast Rap
Priscilla Ahn
A Good Day
Blue Note
Contemporary Singer/Songwriter, Contemporary Folk
The Bangkok Five
We Love What Kills Us
Megaforce
Alternative Pop/Rock, Hard Rock
The Beach Boys
US Singles Collection Box: The Capitol Years 1962-1965
Capitol
Surf, Pop, Sunshine Pop, Rock & Roll
Jirí Belohlávek
Martinu: Violin Concerto No. 2; Toccata & due Canzoni
Harmonia Mundi
Modern Chamber Music
Haley Bonar
Big Star
Afternoon
Indie Rock
The Boxmasters
The Boxmasters
Vanguard
Psychedelic Pop, Truck Driving Country, Americana, Alternative Country-Rock, Bakersfield Sound, Honky Tonk, Roots Rock, Rockabilly, Country-Rock
The Bridges
Limits of the Sky
Verve Forecast
Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock
Solomon Burke
Like a Fire
Shout! Factory
Deep Soul, Southern Soul, Country-Soul
The Charlatans UK
You Cross My Path [Deluxe Edition]
Cooking Vinyl
British Trad Rock, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Britpop, Alternative Pop/Rock
Gene Clark
Silverado '75: Live & Unreleased
Collectors' Choice Music
Folk-Rock, Baroque Pop, Country-Rock
Marcus Creed
Bruckner: Mass in E minor; Motets [Hybrid SACD]
Haenssler Classic
Post-Romantic Choral Music
Crusaders
Live in Japan 2003
Pra
Crossover Jazz, Jazz-Pop, Jazz-Funk
Gas
Nah und Fern
Kompakt
Ambient Techno, Techno, Experimental Techno, IDM
Jeff Gauthier
House of Return
Cryptogramophon
Free Improvisation, Avant-Garde Jazz, Modern Free, Modern Creative
Guillemots
Red
Polydor
Indie Pop, Alternative Pop/Rock
Hil St. Soul
Black Rose
Shanachie
Contemporary R&B, Urban
Hiromi
Beyond Standard
Telarc
Contemporary Jazz, Post-Bop, Fusion
Freddie Hubbard
On the Real Side (70th Birthday Celebration)
Four Quarters/Times Square
Post-Bop
James Hunter
The Hard Way
Hear Music
Retro-Soul, Blue-Eyed Soul
The Infamous Stringdusters
The Infamous Stringdusters
Sugar Hill
Contemporary Bluegrass
Ahmad Jamal
It's Magic
Dreyfus Jazz
Post-Bop
KRS-One
Maximum Strength
Koch
Hip-Hop, East Coast Rap, Hardcore Rap
Patti LaBelle
The Essential Patti LaBelle
Philadelphia International/Le
Soul, Urban
Patti LaBelle
Live in Washington D.C.
Philadelphia International/Le
Quiet Storm, Urban, Soul
Love
False Start
Collectors' Choice Music
Garage Rock, Folk-Rock, Psychedelic, Baroque Pop
Love
Out There
Big Beat
Garage Rock, Folk-Rock, Psychedelic, Baroque Pop
Janiva Magness
What Love Will Do
Alligator
Contemporary Blues, Modern Electric Blues, Soul-Blues
Manfred Mann
The Hit Man: Essential Singles 1963-1969
Raven
Pop/Rock, British Invasion, Pop, Rock & Roll
Sergio Mendes
Encanto
Concord
Brazilian Jazz, Latin Jazz, Urban, Bossa Nova, Latin Pop
Montgomery Gentry
Back When I Knew It All
Sony
Contemporary Country, Southern Rock, Country-Rock
N.E.R.D.
Seeing Sounds
Interscope
Alternative Pop/Rock, Rap-Rock, Urban
Carla Olson & the Textones
Detroit 85: Live and Unreleased
Collectors' Choice Music
Country-Rock, Roots Rock, Americana
Carla Olson & Mick Taylor
Too Hot for Snakes
Collectors' Choice Music
Roots Rock, Country-Rock, Americana
The Orb
The Dream
Six Degrees
Ambient Dub, Club/Dance, Ambient House, Techno, Electronica
Svoboda, Mike
Phonométrie
Wergo
Modern Piano Music and Contemporary Vocal Music
moderntimes_1800
Sinfonias from the Enlightenment
Challenge Classics
Baroque Chamber and Orchestral Music
Original TV Soundtrack
Carly: Music from and Inspired by the Hit TV Show
Sony
Teen Pop, TV Soundtracks
Pentemple
0))) Presents…
Southern Lord
Doom Metal, Noise, Post-Rock/Experimental
Plies
Definition of Real
Big Gates/Slip-N-Slide/Atlant
Southern Rap, Gangsta Rap
Ponies in the Surf
See You Happy
Darla
Indie Pop, Twee Pop
Rev Theory
Light It Up
Interscope
Post-Grunge, Hard Rock
The Runaways
The Runaways/Queens of Noise
Raven
Hard Rock
Sloan
Parallel Play
Yep Roc
Alternative Pop/Rock, Indie Rock
Sparks
Exotic Creatures of the Deep
Lil Beethoven
Pop/Rock, Indie Pop
Mark Stewart
Edit
Crippled Dick/Hot Wax
Post-Punk, Experimental Rock, Dub, Alternative Pop/Rock
Styrofoam
A Thousand Words
Nettwerk
Indie Electronic
Supergrass
Diamond Hoo Ha
EMI
Britpop, Alternative Pop/Rock
Chip Taylor
New Songs of Freedom
Megaforce
Folk-Rock, Singer/Songwriter, Country-Rock, Americana
Tyga
No Introduction
Decaydance
Pop-Rap
Various Artists
Cash Money Records: 10 Years of Bling, Vol. 2
Cash Money
Southern Rap, Hardcore Rap, Gangsta Rap
Various Artists
Soirées musicales: Songs & Duets by Rossini
Hyperion
Romantic Vocal Music
Martha Wainwright
I Know You're Married But I've Got Feelings Too
Zoe
Contemporary Singer/Songwriter, Alternative Folk, Folk-Pop
Shannon Walker
Shannon Walker
DM Nashville
Contemporary Singer/Songwriter, Contemporary Country
Tony Joe White
Deep Cuts
Swamp/Red/Thirty Tigers
Pop-Soul, Pop/Rock, Country-Pop, Country-Rock, Rock & Roll
Cassandra Wilson
Loverly
Blue Note
Vocal Jazz, Standards, Contemporary Jazz, Modern Creative
Roy Wood
Wizzard Brew [Bonus Tracks]
EMI
Pop/Rock, Prog-Rock/Art Rock, Glam Rock
Dan Zanes
¡Nueva York!
Festival Five
Modern Son, Norteño, Merengue, Cumbia, Bachata, Latin Folk
