Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment
January is usually a pretty brutal month for new releases and this year has been no exception, but this week is where we start to turn it around. We have interesting and compelling releases from interesting and compelling artists. This week, we have albums worth buying. This week, we have albums worth discussing and some of BC's best have already started writing about them.
First up, let's talk Pat Metheny's Orchestrion. I'm surprised to be starting with Metheny, myself, as I own not one note of his music. I'm bringing this up because we have some devoted jazz heads and because Mr. Mark Saleski, one of our most prolific writers, is a devoted Metheny fan. He's heard the record. He's happy. How happy? His review is up and you can learn all about it. He's even halfway convinced this record might be accessible enough for me to make a run at it. It may just happen.
How about Corinne Bailey Rae's new record, The Sea? Rae made a name for herself with her debut a few years back and she's getting high praise for this latest effort. Among those heaping the hosannahs? Our own Kit O'Toole.
We've also got a new record from The Magnetic Fields. I'm a casual admirer of TMF. It's not as brilliant as some would lead you to believe, but the intelligent, literate lyrics and the lo-fi productions make for interesting and occasionally wonderful songcraft.
Last but certainly not least, we have an archival release of sorts from the legendary David Bowie. A 2-CD soundtrack of sorts is being released of Bowie's Reality Tour DVD. The DVD came out a few years ago at the end of Bowie's last full-scale tour, promoting the Reality album. I have the DVD and it makes me happy. It was a very good show. The record? It had its moments. Bowie chose wisely which songs from that record to present among his illustrious catalog. I'm having one of these. Iguana Glen Boyd has reviewed it and he agrees with me: you need this.
There are many other worthy titles in this week's list, so take a look.
Beach House
Teen Dream
Charlotte Gainsbourg
IRM
Patty Griffin
Downtown Church
Lady Antebellum
Need You Now
The Magnetic Fields
Realism
Pat Metheny
Orchestrion
Animal Collective
Campfire Songs
Arj Barker
LYAO
Eric Bibb
Booker's Guitar
Blue Rodeo
The Things We Left Behind
David Bowie
A Reality Tour
Basia Bulat
Heart of My Own
Buraka Som Sistema
Fabriclive.49
Los Campesinos!
Romance Is Boring
Citay
Dream Get Together
Clipd Beaks
To Realize
Andrew Cyr
Avner Dorman: Concertos
DMX
Best of DMX
The Durutti Column
Paean To Wilson
Enigma
Platinum Collection
Joe Firstman
El Porto
Fozzy
Chasing the Grail
Fucked Up
Couple Tracks: Singles 2002-2009
Gigi
Maintenant
Vince Gill
Love Songs
Good Shoes
No Hope, No Future
Great Buildings
Extra Epic Everything
The Guess Who
Wheatfield Soul/Share the Land/Canned Wheat
Thomas Hampson
Michael Daugherty: Letters From Lincoln
Harvey Milk
Harvey Milk
Four Tet
There Is Love in You
Home
Seventeen
Yuka Honda
Heart Chamber Phantoms
I See Hawks in L.A.
The Shoulda Been Gold 2001-2009
Ihsahn
After [Bonus DVD] [Deluxe Edition]
Joan of Arc Presents:
Don't Mind Control
Lonnie Johnson
A Life in Music Selected Sides 1925-1953
Mayuko Kamio
Paganini: 24 Caprices
Kidz Bop Kids
Kidz Bop 17
Steve Kilbey/Martin Kennedy
Unseen Music Unheard Words
Leæther Strip
Yes I'm Limited V
Bei Bei/Shawn Lee
Into the Wind
Little Esther
The Early Hits 1949-54
Joe Locke
For the Love of You
Locksley
Be in Love
Major Stars
Return to Form
Barry Manilow
The Greatest Love Songs of All Time
Dean Martin
Essential Love Songs
Chicago Underground Duo
Boca Negra
Merzbow
13 Japanese Birds, Vol. 12
Merzbow
13 Japanese Birds, Vol. 13
Moon Mullican
Ill Sail My Ship Alone/Mr Honky Tonk Man
My Brightest Diamond
Shark Remixes Volumes 1, 2, 3 & 4
My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult
Death Threat
Youssou N'Dour
I Bring What I Love
Never Shout Never
What Is Love?
Scout Niblett
The Calcination of Scout Niblett
Number One Gun
To the Secrets & Knowledge
William Orbit
Odyssey
Alice Sara Ott
Chopin: Complete Waltzes
Steffen Schleiermacher
Morton Feldman: The Late Piano Works, Vol. 3
Jeremy Pelt
Men of Honor
Pit Er Pat
The Flexible Entertainer
Corinne Bailey Rae
The Sea
The Red Krayola/Art & Language
Five American Portraits
Retribution Gospel Choir
2
David Sanborn
Only Everything
Neil Sedaka
The Music of My Life
Matthew Shipp
4D
Frank Sinatra
Strangers in the Night
Soul Children
Finders Keepers/Where Is Your Woman Tonight
Soweto Gospel Choir
Grace
Taking Dawn
Time to Burn
George Tipton
Nilsson by Tipton
