It's summertime, and no band says good times, hot babes, and cool rays quite like Motley Crue, right? Currently out pillaging the countryside on their Cruefest tour, the original bad boys of the Sunset Strip are also back this week with Saints of Los Angeles, their first new album in eight years.
With song titles like "Mutherfucker Of The Year," "Down At The Whiskey," and "This Aint A Love Song" (we'll let you guess what it actually is then), the Crue-boys also look to be trying to extend their already over-extended adolescence a few more years. The only thing missing here is the tittie-cam.
Speaking of bad boys, Pete Doherty checks out of rehab long enough to grace us with Babyshambles new live CD/DVD set Oh What a Lovely Tour. Elsewhere, we have a new one from Ry Cooder in the sci-fi influenced I, Flathead. Sigur Ros are back with Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust.
Earlier this week Blogcritic Clayton Perry wrote a
glowing review describing Anthony David's new Acey Deucy as nothing less than the future of soul music.
On the hip-hop side of things, southern rappers Three 6 Mafia are down to a duo on their new CD Last 2 Walk. Wu-Tang Clan's resident alchemist RZA checks in under his alter-ego Bobby Digital with Digi Snacks.
Donald Gibson will be along shortly to talk about the new one from Jessie Baylin. But first, we welcome Josh Hathaway to our revolving cast of contributors, making his debut pick for NAR this week. Regular visitors to BC already know Josh as an assistant music editor here, and publisher of Confessions Of A Fanboy. Josh can also be heard Thursday nights on his Blogtalk/BC Radio show, B-Sides Concept Album.
Watermelon Slim & The Workers are ready to defend their title. No Paid Vacations follows last year's The Wheel Man, which took home the Blues Music Award for Album of the Year. Vacations — his third album in three years — doesn't stray far from the vision of the blues he's crafted on previous records, which is good news. There's massive amounts of slide guitar, tasty harmonica licks aplenty, and Slim telling stories with that unique cadence of his. These are the ingredients that make his albums work, and No Paid Vacations has all of them.
If you heard her playing in some downtown music club, you’d have a hard time believing that Jessie Baylin is only 24. Her honey-soaked voice and melancholic inflections impart maturity beyond her years, underscoring why her new album, Firesight, resonates with such warmth. On this, the New Jersey native’s major-label debut, the music yields a mélange of styles to include elements of folk, soul, and, at its best, jazz. Baylin fares particularly well on “I’ll Cry For The Both Of Us,” “Leave Your Mark,” and the piano-laden strains of “Lonely Heaven,” all of which accentuate her vocal versatility to poignant effect. Firesight is an eclectic, ambitious effort that should not only serve as foundation for this promising young artist, but also as encouragement for her to further explore her creativeness.
Here are all of this week's new album releases courtesy of All Music Guide:
Ry Cooder
I, Flathead
Nonesuch
Western Swing Revival, Honky Tonk, Norteño, Mariachi, Roots Rock, Country-Rock, Rock & Roll
Alejandro Escovedo
Real Animal
Back Porch/Manhattan
Alternative Singer/Songwriter, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock
Sigur Rós
Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust
XL
Post-Rock/Experimental, Dream Pop
Three 6 Mafia
Last 2 Walk
Columbia
Hardcore Rap, Southern Rap
The Anniversary
Devil on Our Side: B-Sides and Rarities
Vagrant
Indie Rock, Emo
Babyshambles
Oh What a Lovely Tour [CD/DVD]
Astralwerks
Indie Rock, Garage Rock Revival
Jessie Baylin
Firesight
Verve Forecast
Contemporary Singer/Songwriter, Alternative Pop/Rock
Be Your Own Pet
Get Damaged
XL
Noise Pop, Indie Rock
Big Blue Ball
Big Blue Ball
Real World
Celtic Fusion, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Afro-Pop, Worldbeat
Big Brother & the Holding Company
The Lost Tapes
Airline
Blues-Rock, Psychedelic, Acid Rock
Paul Bley
About Time
Justin Time
Improvisation, Post-Bop, Free Improvisation
Blondie
Parallel Lines [CD/DVD]
Caroline
Dance-Rock, American Punk, New York Punk, Pop/Rock, New Wave, Punk
Cajun Dance Party
The Colourful Life
XL
Indie Rock, New Wave/Post-Punk Revival
Camper Van Beethoven
Popular Songs of Great Enduring Strength and Beauty
Cooking Vinyl
American Underground, College Rock, Indie Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock, Jangle Pop
Mark Chesnutt
Rollin' with the Flow
Lofton Creek
New Traditionalist, Contemporary Country
Choir of the 21st Century
Philip Glass: Another Look at Harmony – Part IV
Somm
Contemporary Choral Music
Cute Is What We Aim For
Rotation
Fueled by Ramen
Emo, Punk-Pop
Eric Darius
Goin' All Out
Blue Note
Smooth Jazz, Contemporary Jazz
Anthony David
Acey Duecy
Soulbird/Universal Republic
Neo-Soul, Contemporary Singer/Songwriter
Dwele
Sketches of a Man
Koch
Contemporary R&B, Urban, Neo-Soul
Elephant9
Dodovoodoo
Runegrammofon
Jazz-Rock, Progressive Jazz, Prog-Rock/Art Rock
G. Love & Special Sauce
Superhero Brother
Brushfire
Alternative Pop/Rock, Blues-Rock, Alternative Rap
The Grip Weeds
Infinite Soul: The Best of the Grip Weeds
Wicked Cool
Neo-Psychedelia, Pop Underground
Hercules & Love Affair
Hercules & Love Affair
DFA/EMI
Left-Field House, Club/Dance, Post-Disco, House
Warren Hill
La Dolce Vita
Koch
Smooth Jazz
Billy Idol
The Very Best of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself
Capitol
Album Rock, Pop/Rock, Hard Rock, Dance-Rock, New Wave
Hope Koehler
The Lass from the Low Countree
Albany
Modern Vocal Music and Folk Song Arrangements
Amos Lee
Last Days at the Lodge
Blue Note
Neo-Soul, Contemporary Singer/Songwriter, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Folk-Pop
P.W. Long
God Bless the Drunkard's Dog
Southern
Indie Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock, Blues-Rock
Love as Laughter
Holy
Epic/Red
Indie Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock
Edwin McCain
Nobody's Fault But Mine
Saguaro Road
American Trad Rock, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock
Michael Nyman Band
Michael Nyman: Six Celan Songs; The Ballad of Kastriot Rexhepi
MN
Contemporary Vocal Music
Mötley Crüe
Saints of Los Angeles
Masters 2008/Motley Records
Pop-Metal, Hard Rock, Hair Metal, Heavy Metal, Album Rock
Original Soundtrack
The Wackness
Jive/Zomba
Hardcore Rap, Hip-Hop, East Coast Rap, Urban
Original Soundtrack
Wall*e [Soundtrack]
Disney
Original Score, Soundtracks
Danny Paisley & the Southern Grass
The Room Over Mine
Rounder
Bluegrass, Progressive Bluegrass, Neo-Traditionalist Country
Liz Phair
Exile in Guyville [Deluxe Edition]
ATO
Indie Rock, Lo-Fi, Alternative Pop/Rock
RZA as Bobby Digital
Digi Snacks
Koch
Hardcore Rap, East Coast Rap
Reckless Kelly
Bulletproof
Yep Roc
Alternative Country-Rock, Alternative Country
Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog
Party Intellectuals
Pi Recordings
Avant-Garde Jazz, Experimental Rock, Noise-Rock
Shinedown
The Sound of Madness
Atlantic/WEA
Post-Grunge, Alternative Metal
Various Artists
Curt Cacioppo: Ancestral Passage
MSR Classics
Contemporary Chamber Music
Various Artists
Eccentric Soul: The Tragar & Note Labels
Numero
Southern Soul, Soul
Various Artists
Wagner: The Great Operas from the Bayreuth Festival
Decca
Romantic Opera
Watermelon Slim & the Workers
No Paid Holidays
Northern Blues
Contemporary Blues, Folk-Blues, Country Blues, Electric Country Blues, Electric Blues, Modern Acoustic Blues, Acoustic Blues
The Watson Twins
Fire Songs
Historic
Americana, Alternative Country, Indie Rock