Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment
For those who hadn't heard, this past weekend was National Record Store Day, an event put together by independent music retailers, presumably in an effort to draw some traffic back into the stores. The event was marked here at Blogcritics in an article by our own Mark Saleski, which not surprisingly drew some debate in the comments section (by some of the usual suspects who often comment there).
The thing is, a lot of us old-timers who have been doing this record geek thing for awhile simply miss the old record store experience. As such, we are asking you download-happy young whipper-snappers to go easy on us, okay? Go ahead and download your hard drives out. Just grant us our right to wallow in a little record store nostalgia.
Of course, it would help an awful lot if the record labels would actually release something to give us a reason to venture back there, wouldn't it now?
Here at BC's New Releases column, we will be the first to admit that new music (at least in significant amounts) has been in somewhat short supply so far this year. Still, it is our obligation to point you, our readers, towards those few lights out there amidst the darkness.
So on that note, here are a few good reasons to visit your friendly neighborhood record store this week.
For starters, there is Mr. Love & Justice, the first new album from Billy Bragg since 2002. Bragg is always good for a few sharp political insights, and this album is said to be a return to form for the veteran.
Speaking of veterans, Ryko/Twin Tone are spearheading a catalog re-haul for the Replacements, including a deluxe edition of their seminal release Let It Be. Another notable reissue is the two-disc collectors edition of Love's Forever Changes. This often overlooked masterpiece — cited by many critics as one of the best rock albums ever made — gets an overdue deluxe overhaul here.
Some of the more noteworthy new music this week includes the debut from Flight of the Conchords, who are best known for the HBO series of the same name. Ashlee Simpson is once again busy reinventing herself as a retro/dance/wave-pop something or another on her third album Bittersweet World.
A few of our fellow Blogcritics also weighed in with some of their thoughts on this week's new music. Pico cites the "cinematic quality" of Barry Adamson's Back to The Cat, drawing comparisons to Issac Hayes and Ennio Morricone among others in his review. David R. Perry calls the dream-pop of Elbow's The Seldom Seen Kid "some of the best of their career." Jordan Richardson earlier this week enthused about the way Stanley Jordan's environmentally themed State Of Nature "celebrates life" while also exploring our part in the changing climate.
But speaking of Blogcritics scribes, it's time to check in with Mark Saleski:
Never heard of pianist Marilyn Crispell? I was first exposed to her work via Anthony Braxton's momumental Willisau quartet recordings. Crispell has a unique style of play, which I put on the shelf next to Cecil Taylor and Keith Jarrett. This is her first solo record on the ECM label and I'm expecting great and interesting things. If you've never stepped "out," not even a little, this might be a safe place to start. (Remember, this is me using the word 'safe.' You've been warned.)
Tom Johnson did not contribute a pick this week.
Here are all of this week's new album releases courtesy of All Music Guide:
Billy Bragg
Mr. Love & Justice
Cooking Vinyl
Alternative Folk, Alternative Singer/Songwriter, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock
Flight of the Conchords
Flight of the Conchords
Sub Pop
Comedy Rock
The Replacements
Let It Be [Deluxe Edition]
Twin/Tone/Ryko/Rhino
American Underground, College Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock, Hard Rock, Rock & Roll
Ashlee Simpson
Bittersweet World
Geffen
Teen Pop, Pop/Rock, Dance-Pop
Tokyo Police Club
Elephant Shell
Saddle Creek
Indie Rock
Barry Adamson
Back to the Cat
Central Control
Punk Blues, Retro-Rock, Contemporary Singer/Songwriter, Retro Swing, Original Score, Film Music, Space Age Pop, Post-Punk, Cabaret, Jazz Blues, Modern Big Band
Atreyu
Lead Sails Paper Anchor 2.0
Hollywood
Punk Metal, Alternative Metal
Roy Ayers Ubiquity
Vibrations
Verve
Soul-Jazz, Jazz-Funk, Funk
Tab Benoit
Night Train to Nashville
Telarc
Louisiana Blues, Modern Electric Blues, Swamp Blues, New Orleans Blues
Blind Melon
For My Friends
Adrenaline
Alternative Pop/Rock, American Trad Rock
Terry Callier
Occasional Rain [Remastered]
Verve
Chicago Soul, Folk-Jazz, Singer/Songwriter, Progressive Folk, Soul
The Cinematic Orchestra
Live at the Royal Albert Hall
Domino
Downbeat, Orchestral Jazz, Film Music, Contemporary Jazz
Ornette Coleman
The Art of the Improvisers
Atlantic
Avant-Garde Jazz, Free Jazz
Marilyn Crispell
Vignettes
ECM
Structured Improvisation, Avant-Garde Jazz, Modern Composition
The Jazz Crusaders
Old Socks, New Shoes…New Socks, Old Shoes
Motown
Soul-Jazz, Jazz-Funk
Dov Davidoff
The Point Is
Comedy Central
Observational Humor, Standup Comedy
Van Duren
Are You Serious?
Air Mail
Power Pop
Earles and Jensen
Just Farr a Laugh, Vol. 1 and 2: The Greatest Prank Phone Call Ever!
Matador
Prank Calls
Elbow
The Seldom Seen Kid
Polydor
Dream Pop, Britpop
The Feelies
Crazy Rhythms
A&M
American Underground, College Rock, Jangle Pop, Alternative Pop/Rock
Goldfinger
Hello Destiny…
Side One Dummy
Ska-Punk, Punk-Pop, Alternative Pop/Rock
Marilyn Horne
The Complete Decca Recitals
Decca
Operatic Selections
Jorma Hynninen
Elämälle: Songs by Oskar Merikanto
Ondine
Modern Vocal Music
The Jealous Girlfriends
The Jealous Girlfriends
Last Gang
Indie Rock
Stanley Jordan
State of Nature
Mack Avenue
Contemporary Jazz
Carole King
Tapestry [Legacy Edition]
Sony Legacy
Pop/Rock, Soft Rock
Magdalena Kozená
Ah! Mio Cor: Handel Arias
Archiv Produktion
Baroque Vocal Music
Erich Kunzel
Boléro: Music by Ravel, Borodin, Bizet [Hybrid SACD]
Telarc
Romantic and Modern Orchestral Music
Ramsey Lewis Trio
Ramsey Lewis Trio at the Bohemian Caverns [Remastered]
Verve
Soul-Jazz
Love
Forever Changes [Collector's Edition]
Rhino
Baroque Pop, Pop/Rock, Folk-Rock, Psychedelic
Lyrics Born
Everywhere at Once
Anti
Alternative Rap, Alternative Pop/Rock, Hip-Hop, Neo-Soul
Bennie Maupin
Early Reflections
Cryptogramophon
Post-Bop, Modal Music
Stanton Moore
Emphasis! On Parenthesis
Telarc
Jazz-Rock, New Orleans R&B, Soul-Jazz, Jazz-Funk, R&B
The Night Marchers
See You in Magic
Vagrant
Garage Punk, Indie Rock
Rolando Villazón
Cielo e Mar
Deutsche Grammophon
Italian Operatic Selections
Donny Osmond
From Donny…With Love
Universal Classics
Pop/Rock, Adult Contemporary, Dance-Pop
Nicholas Payton
Into the Blue
Nonesuch
Post-Bop, Hard Bop, Contemporary Jazz
El Perro del Mar
From the Valley to the Stars
The Control Group
Indie Pop, Chamber Pop
Prodigy
H.N.I.C., Pt. 2
Aao Music
Hardcore Rap, East Coast Rap, Hip-Hop
Otis Redding
Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul [Collector's Edition]
Rhino
Deep Soul, Southern Soul, Soul, Memphis Soul
The Replacements
Hootenanny [Deluxe Edition]
Twin/Tone/Ryko/Rhino
American Underground, College Rock, Alternative Pop/Rock
The Replacements
Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash [Deluxe Edition]
Twin/Tone/Ryko/Rhino
American Underground, American Punk
The Replacements
Stink [Deluxe Edition]
Twin/Tone/Ryko/Rhino
American Underground, American Punk, Hardcore Punk
Jonathan Richman
Because Her Beauty Is Raw and Wild
Ada/Vapor
Alternative Singer/Songwriter, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock
Sarandon
Kill Twee Pop!
Slumberland
New Wave/Post-Punk Revival, Indie Rock
Scarface
The Best of Scarface
Asylum/Rap-A-Lo
Southern Rap, Hardcore Rap, Gangsta Rap
Story of the Year
The Black Swan
Epitaph
Emo, Punk Revival, Screamo, Post-Grunge
Tea Leaf Green
Seeds
Ada/Surfdog
Roots Rock
Various Artists
Assemblage 1998-2008
Cryptogramophon
Avant-Garde Jazz, Folk-Jazz, Modern Free, Modern Creative
Phil Vassar
Prayer of a Common Man
Universal South
Contemporary Country
The Weepies
Hideaway
Nettwerk
Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Folk-Rock
The White Tie Affair
Walk This Way
Epic
Dance-Rock, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, New Wave/Post-Punk Revival
Whitesnake
Good to Be Bad
Steamhammer
Hard Rock, Album Rock, Arena Rock, Heavy Metal, Blues-Rock, Pop-Metal
Young Knives
Superabundance
Transgressive
Indie Rock, New Wave/Post-Punk Revival
Thalia Zedek Band
Liars and Prayers
Thrill Jockey
American Underground, Indie Rock, Post-Punk, Sadcore
