Friday , March 29 2024
Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes.

New Album Releases 01/22/08: Introducing Our Weekly Picks by Mark Saleski And Tom Johnson (Plus Cat Power, Drive-By Truckers, Liam Finn, And More)

In this week's edition of the new album releases, we find things starting to pick up a bit as the record industry begins to lumber back to life following the post-holiday season hangover. But before we get to that, a few housekeeping items are in order.

Change is afoot here at the weekly new album release column. And we think they are some changes that you regular readers here are going to like. Beginning with this week's column, in addition to my regular rundown of all the new releases, we are going to begin including a weekly feature where a guest BC writer will focus in on a personal album pick of note, and write a few choice words on why this particular release might merit your own special attention.

The good news, is that for this daunting task I've enlisted two of BC's very best music writers.

You already know Mark Saleski as something of the unofficial "dean" of BC music critics, and for his two popular columns, The Friday Morning Listen and the sadly, soon to be retired feature Tuesday Morning Purchase (but I'll let Sir Mark tell you more about that in his own space here at BC).

Although Mark has decided to retire his Tuesday feature, he has graciously agreed to continue on the tradition of a weekly pick right here in the new album release column. And so…drumroll please…this week it gives me great pleasure to announce the debut of Saleski's Choice.

Oh, but that's not all boys and girls.

Since any great team's backup needs to be just as good as the starting lineup, we will also be joined here from time to time by the one and only Tom Johnson. In addition to being another of BC's star music writers, Tom offers his own rather unique perspectives on all things tune-related in his own ongoing regular BC feature Re:Collection. Like Sir Mark, when it comes to music Tom is a guy who knows what he's talking about. Tom has also agreed to contribute his own picks here on a semi-regular basis.

Either I'm the luckiest weekly new release columnist on the planet, or these two guys have hatched an evil master plan to put me out of business. Time will tell, but the way I see it, the readers win. So, with the introductions out of the way, and without further adieu, we bring you…

Saleski's Choice: Buck Owens – Live in Scandinavia

Among some of my Internet friends, I'm known for being into "obscure" jazz. I suppose this is true, though given the average person's engagement with the jazz world (face it people, it's a pretty small number, percentage-wise), the definition of "obscure" is a slippery one.

Now that my role on new release day has been reduced (somehow, it feels 'enhanced' at the same time) to a single album's entry, it seems proper that I keep up my end of the bargain.

Which is why I'm selecting a country record.

Thanks goodness for Sundazed Records. They have reissued so many cool & obscure (hey, there's that word again) rock, country, soul, surf, and rockabilly albums. In this era of the bean-counter-driven record label, it's heartening to see that somebody out there still cares about music.

Sundazed has been a champion of the entire Buck Owens & the Buckaroos back catalog, and this entry adds to the legacy. Check it out, because Buck was much more than an guy who played guitar and laughed at bad jokes on Hee Haw.

And not to be outdone, here is…

Tom Johnson's Pick Of The Week: Super Furry Animals – Hey Venus!

Things fall through the cracks, whether it be a tiny band that many don't notice or a major artist that many write off as a has-been. For whatever reason, the publicity machine churns is fueled by certain combinations of factors that few really understand, and so much good music goes unnoticed. Take Super Furry Animals, for example. They're not that strange that the mainstream can't get into them and yet they've never really taken off, especially here in the U.S. But a rabid fanbase they do have, there's no doubt about that. Perhaps that's why they seem to have been part of an experiment of sorts.

Maybe as a sign of "things to come," this album came out back in the early fall on vinyl and mp3, with the CD release held off for months – but only in the U.S.

Now that it's coming out on CD, however – and here's the "ha ha – burn!" – it's coming with a second disc of extra songs, five to be exact (one is a video, however.) Ooohh – feel the sting. Are they worth the extra investment? Well, I don't really recall finding any casual SFA fans – people either want it all or nothing when it comes to this band. Few aren't going to want these, but, as these things go when it comes to die-hard fans, some may already have them as singles b-sides.

As has been the case with the previous Super Furry reissues, those "leftover tracks" found on singles are really just songs they couldn't fit logically into the flow of the album – not necessarily throwaway songs. We fans seem to make out pretty well with this band, even if maybe Love Kraft didn't quite meet the high expectations many had. Word is that Hey Venus! makes up for lost time.

Finally, for the rest of the week's new offerings, we have these to chew on…

On Jukebox, her latest album of cover versions by other artists, Chan "Cat Power" Marshall takes on the songs of Joni Mitchell, and Bob Dylan's born-again years. The Drive-By Truckers are also back with Brighter Than Creation's Dark, their latest collection of greasy, countrified, funkified southern rock.

Liam Finn shows that he is more than just a chip off the old block (you might know his old man from Crowded House), with I'll Be Lightning. The North Mississippi Allstars return with Hernando. Coldplay frontman Chris Martin's favorite Canadian psychedelic metal band Black Mountain is back with In the Future, and seventies prog-pioneers Emerson Lake & Palmer revisit volumes one and two of their Works.

Here are all of this week's new album releases courtesy of All Music Guide:

Cat Power
Jukebox
Matador
Indie Rock

Drive-By Truckers
Brighter Than Creation's Dark
New West
Alternative Country-Rock, Southern Rock, Hard Rock

Liam Finn
I'll Be Lightning
Yep Roc
Alternative Singer/Songwriter, Indie Pop, Indie Rock

North Mississippi Allstars
Hernando
Songs of the South
Retro-Rock, American Trad Rock, Roots Rock, Blues-Rock, Southern Rock

Jason Ringenberg
Best Tracks and Side Tracks 1979-2007
Yep Roc
Country-Rock, Roots Rock, Alternative Country, Alternative Country-Rock, Americana, Country-Folk

Baby Dee
Safe Inside the Day
Drag City
Experimental Rock

Natasha Bedingfield
Pocketful of Sunshine
Epic
Teen Pop, Dance-Pop, Adult Contemporary

Steven Bernstein
Diaspora Suite
Tzadik
Experimental Big Band, Jewish Music, Avant-Garde Jazz, Jazz-Rock, Fusion, World Fusion, Modern Creative

Black Mountain
In the Future
Jagjaguwar
Neo-Prog, Space Rock, Neo-Psychedelia, Indie Rock, Prog-Rock/Art Rock

Bodies of Water
Ears Will Pop & Eyes Will Blink
Secretly Canadian
Indie Pop

Buzzcocks
30
Cooking Vinyl
British Punk, Punk

Sarah Cahill
Kyle Gann: Private Dances
New Albion
Contemporary Keyboard & Chamber Music

Matt Costa
Unfamiliar Faces
Brushfire
Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Indie Rock

Daedelus
Live at Low End Theory
Alpha Pup
IDM, Ambient Techno, Indie Electronic, Experimental Techno

Dead Confederate
Dead Confederate
Razor & Tie
Indie Rock, Roots Rock, Neo-Psychedelia

Destroy All Monsters
Live in Tokyo & Osaka
Compound Annex
Obscuro, Detroit Rock, Proto-Punk, Alternative Pop/Rock

Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Works, Vol. 1
Rhino
Prog-Rock/Art Rock, Album Rock

Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Works, Vol. 2
Rhino
Prog-Rock/Art Rock, Album Rock

Evangelicals
The Evening Descends
Dead Oceans
Indie Rock

The Feelies
Crazy Rhythms
A&M
American Underground, College Rock, Jangle Pop, Alternative Pop/Rock

The Fleshtones
Take a Good Look
Yep Roc
Garage Rock Revival

Juan Diego Florez
Arias for Rubini
Decca
Romantic Italian Opera Arias

General Echo
Teacher Fe di Class 1979-1980
Blood and Fire
DJ, Dancehall

Hey Willpower
P.D.A.
Tomlab
Indie Electronic, Contemporary R&B

Instruments of Science and Technology
Music from the Films of R/Swift
Secretly Canadian
Indie Electronic, Experimental Ambient

The Kennedys
Better Dreams
Appleseed
Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Americana, Contemporary Folk

Sneaky Pete Kleinow
Anthology
Sundazed
Country-Rock, Traditional Country

Patty Larkin
Watch the Sky
Vanguard
Contemporary Singer/Songwriter, Contemporary Folk

Lisa Loeb
The Purple Tape
Furious Rose
Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Contemporary Singer/Songwriter

MGMT
Oracular Spectacular
Red Ink/Columbia
Indie Electronic, Indie Pop, Neo-Psychedelia

Wynton Marsalis
Standards & Ballads
Columbia/Legacy
Post-Bop, Neo-Bop

Ralph McTell
The Definitive Collection
Highpoint
British Folk, Singer/Songwriter, British Folk-Rock

moe.
Sticks and Stones
Fatboy
Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, American Trad Rock, Jam Bands

Charles Wuorinen
Charles Wuorinen: Archaeopteryx
Albany
Contemporary Chamber Music

Nanae Yoshimura
Takashi Yoshimatsu: Stellar Dream Dances
Camerata
Contemporary Chamber Music

Original TV Soundtrack
Dr. Who: Series 3
Silva America
Television Music, TV Soundtracks, Soundtracks

Buck Owens
Live in Scandinavia
Sundazed
Bakersfield Sound, Honky Tonk, Traditional Country

The Pack A.D.
Tintype
Pack
Garage Rock Revival, Punk Blues, Blues-Rock

Savoy Family Band
Turn Loose But Don't Let Go
Arhoolie
Traditional Cajun

Peggy Seeger
Bring Me Home
Appleseed
Folksongs, Traditional Folk, Folk Revival

Soul Summit
Live at the Berks Jazz Fest!
Shanachie
R&B, Soul

Times New Viking
Rip It Off
Matador
Indie Rock, Lo-Fi

Robin Trower/Jack Bruce
Seven Moons
V-12
Hard Rock, Blues-Rock

The Whigs
Mission Control
Ato – JV
Indie Rock

With Blood Comes Cleansing
Horror
Victory
Heavy Metal, Christian Metal, Death Metal/Black Metal

John Zorn
Film Works, Vol. 19: The Rain Horse
Tzadik
Original Score, Soundtracks, Modern Composition

About Glen Boyd

Glen Boyd is the author of Neil Young FAQ, released in May 2012 by Backbeat Books/Hal Leonard Publishing. He is a former BC Music Editor and current contributor, whose work has also appeared in SPIN, Ultimate Classic Rock, The Rocket, The Source and other publications. You can read more of Glen's work at the official Neil Young FAQ site. Follow Glen on Twitter and on Facebook.

Check Also

Cover Culture Decks Decoded

Book Review: ‘Culture Decks Decoded’ by Bretton Putter

Leaders of any high growth or startup company should read Bretton Putter's new book is 'Culture Decks Decoded.' It's a compelling guidebook on the need for company culture.