Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment
Close your eyes for a minute and you could almost imagine it was the late seventies. That's because the two biggest releases of an otherwise pretty thin week are from two of that era's biggest rock and roll bands.
Black Ice is AC/DC's first album in seven years, and from the first gut-crunching guitar riff, it's as though they never went away. Nothing fancy here. Just the same basic formula of the sort of simple, primal-sounding rock where the riff is always king. Produced by Brendan O'Brien, the Aussie bad boys do what they do best here on songs like "Rock N' Roll Train," "Big Jack," and "She Likes Rock N' Roll." It ain't exactly groundbreaking, but it has worked for these guys for going on four decades now. God bless 'em for it.
Big is probably the best way to describe Ikons, the new four-disc boxed set from Kiss. There have been plenty of these "Kiss Kollections" throughout the years of course, but this one is just a bit different. Each disc spotlights an "ikonic" character in the form of the band's four founding members, and highlights songs where each of them were featured as vocalist. And here I thought Peter Criss only sang on "Beth" all these years.
Speaking of founding members, the Jayhawks' Gary Louris has a companion piece to his solo debut earlier this year with Acoustic Vagabonds, which offers stripped-down versions of songs from that album. The soundtrack from High School Musical 3 has loads of sugary sweet teen pop from lead actors Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens, as well as Ashley Tisdale.
We gave Mark Saleski the week off, but joining us for the first time as an NAR contributor is Masked Movie Snob Fantasma el Rey to talk about the new one from Hank Williams III. In the meantime here's regular NAR contributor Josh Hathaway with this thoughts on jazzman Dave Carter.
Even though I'd been looking forward to this album since Fast Horse Recordings founder Barrett Martin first mentioned it early this year on my BlogTalkRadio program B-Sides Concept Album, there was some apprehension on my part when it arrived. What do I do with a jazz record? Apparently, just listening was not an option- at least not one that came to me immediately. I was completely unprepared for how stupid I was, thinking I somehow needed to prepare myself at all.
With standout tracks like "Short Street," "Pusa Lulu," "Ok Anyway," and "Nopajam," this album has joined the increasingly crowded field of contenders for Best of 2008.
Hank Williams III hits hard and delivers his sixth CD with force and a loud ‘n proud rebel yell. The thirteen tracks on Damn Right Rebel Proud explore a bit more of Hank III’s dark side in a mix of his brand of traditional outlaw country and his flair for metal and punk. At times he's viciously proud and at others H III expresses remorse for the life he chose to embrace and the torch he willingly bares. With his head held high H III kicks out his jams and looks to please his core audience, which is divided between country stompers, mosh-pit rompers, and us psychos that dig both and get what H III is putting down.
Here are all of this week's new album releases courtesy of All Music Guide:
AC/DC
Black Ice
Columbia
Aussie Rock, Album Rock, Heavy Metal, Hard Rock, Arena Rock
The Dears
Missiles
Dangerbird
Post-Rock/Experimental, Indie Rock
Of Montreal
Skeletal Lamping
Polyvinyl
Indie Pop, Neo-Psychedelia
Original Soundtrack
High School Musical 3: Senior Year
Walt Disney
Teen Pop, Original Score, Musicals, Pop/Rock
Wilbert Aerts
Violin Faces
Fuga Libera
Modern and Contemporary Music for Violin
Pierre-Laurent Aimard
Hommage à Messiaen
Deutsche Grammophon
Modern Music for Piano
Roy Ayers Ubiquity
Change Up the Groove
Verve
Soul-Jazz, Instrumental Pop
Azymuth
Butterfly
Far Out UK
Brazilian Jazz, Fusion, Jazz-Funk
Ray Barretto
Jazz
Universal
Afro-Cuban Jazz, Latin Jazz, New York Salsa, Salsa
Anthony Braxton
The Complete Arista Recordings of Anthony Braxton
Mosaic
Structured Improvisation, Creative Orchestra, Experimental Big Band, Avant-Garde Jazz
Camerata Berolinensis
Johann Stamitz, Christoph Willibald Gluck: Sinfonie a tre
Musikmanufaktur Berlin
Classical Orchestral and Chamber Music
Dead Trees
King of Rosa
Milan
Indie Rock, American Trad Rock
Brett Dennen
Hope for the Hopeless
Dualtone
Contemporary Folk, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Folk-Rock
Lucky Dube
Retrospective
Rykodisc
Contemporary Reggae
George Duke
I Love the Blues, She Heard My Cry
Verve
Crossover Jazz, Jazz-Pop
Electric Six
Flashy
Metropolis
Dance-Rock, Indie Rock
Escape the Fate
This War Is Ours
Epitaph
Screamo, Post-Hardcore
Gang Gang Dance
Saint Dymphna
Social Registry
Downtempo, Experimental Dub, Experimental Rock, Electronica, Ambient Dub, Post-Rock/Experimental
Stan Getz
Stan Getz in Stockholm
Verve
West Coast Jazz, Cool, Mainstream Jazz
Tom Glazer
Sings Honk-Hiss-Tweet-GGGGGGG and Other Favorites
Smithsonian/Folkways
Children's Folk, Novelty, Sing-Along, Educational, Traditional Folk
Sebastien Grainger
Sebastien Grainger and the Mountains
Saddle Creek
Indie Rock
El Guincho
Alegranza
XL
Indie Electronic, Indie Pop
Gyptian
I Can Feel Your Pain
VP
Contemporary Reggae
Daniel Harding
Benjamin Britten: Billy Budd
Virgin Classics
Modern Opera
Jazzanova
Of All the Things
Verve
Jazz-House, Downbeat, Acid Jazz, Trip-Hop, Broken Beat
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Forever
Vagrant
Outlaw Country, Progressive Country
Montell Jordan
Let It Rain
Native
Contemporary R&B
Kiss
Ikons
Island/Mercury
Pop-Metal, Arena Rock, Heavy Metal, Hard Rock, Pop/Rock, Album Rock
Lake
Oh, the Places We'll Go
K
Indie Pop
Shawn Lee & Clutchy Hopkins
Clutch of the Tiger
Ubiquity
Experimental Ambient, Funky Breaks, Electronica, Downbeat, Trip-Hop
Gary Louris
Acoustic Vagabonds
Rykodisc
Contemporary Singer/Songwriter, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, Americana
Mary Mary
The Sound
Columbia
Contemporary Gospel, Contemporary R&B
Craig Morgan
That's Why
BNA
Contemporary Country
Morley
Seen
Seen
Alternative Pop/Rock
Pygmalion
Bach: Missae Breves, BWV 234 & 235
Alpha
Baroque Choral Music
Various Artists
Black Orpheus [Universal]
Verve
Original Score, Film Music, Soundtracks
Parts & Labor
Receivers
Jagjaguwar/Brah
Indie Rock, Noise-Rock
The Peppermint Rainbow
Will You Be Staying After Sunday
Collectors' Choice Music
Sunshine Pop, Bubblegum, Baroque Pop
Pit Er Pat
High Time
Thrill Jockey
Indie Rock, Post-Rock/Experimental
The Sea and Cake
Car Alarm
Thrill Jockey
Post-Rock/Experimental, Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Experimental Rock
Jimmy Smith
Hobo Flats
Verve
Orchestral Jazz, Hard Bop, Soul-Jazz, Big Band, Jazz-Funk
Various Artists
Eccentric Soul: The Young Disciples
Numero
R&B, Soul
Various Artists
Love Train: The Ultimate Sound of Philadelphia
Sony
Smooth Soul, Pop-Soul, Quiet Storm, Philly Soul, Disco, Soul
Jimmy Webb
Live and at Large
Jimmy Webb
Singer/Songwriter
White Hinterland
Luniculaire
Dead Oceans
French Pop, Indie Rock, Avant-Garde
Hank Williams III
Damn Right Rebel Proud
Sidewalk
Americana, New Traditionalist, Outlaw Country
Lee Ann Womack
Call Me Crazy
MCA Nashville
Contemporary Country, Country-Pop
