M. Ward "Hold Time". Just released and good on vinyl. |
Hold Time is the first M. Ward I've acquired on vinyl. The sound quality of the LP is good but not exceptional. It was apparently recorded on the same vintage 4-track he used to do She & Him Vol. 1-- which was an excellent 2008 release.
Another '09 keeper is Susanna "Flower of Evil". Haunting, stripped down covers of an unlikely selection by Lou Reed, Nico, Prince, Roy Harper, Phil Lynott, Ozzy O. Some help here from Bonnie Prince Billy-- who really gets around. I'm guessing that Susanna is the daughter of ECM jazzman Christian Wallumrod. |
As an aside, the first two Ray L. albums showed great promise. However his live appearance last year in my area was leaden. In concert he makes the mistake of combining hepped-up earnestness with a control-freak determination to throttle down his fine accompaniests so as not to distract from his showboating egotism. The introverted style that he turns to such great effect in the studio cries out for a looser more electric live presentation. The ethusiastic audience was primed to hear this interesting new artist succeed-- one wants this guy to be the next Neil Young or at least Cat Stevens. Instead he was tone deaf to the opportunity and by the end of the evening a good chunk of the audience was silent & immersed in text messaging. |
"Dark Was the Night". This benefit compilation cuts a wide swathe through new material from David Byrne, The National, Kronus Quartet, Iron & Wine, Arcade Fire, Grizzly Bear, Blonde Redhead, The Decemberists, Yo La Tengo, Bon Iver, Conor Oberst, Feist, Sufjan Stevens, Cat Power, My Morning Jacket, and many others. Not to be missed by anyone who wants to know what's happening in the best alternative music. Excellent vinyl mastering by 4AD and a bargain at $25 for 3 LPs. |
The Byrne/Eno album has some good moments & is worth acquiring, but over-all fails to meet hopes & expectations for this long-awaited reunion. Middling SQ on CD. Perhaps the vinyl is better. |
Ditto new U2. The Eno sections take you right back to Tiger Mountain & Warm Jets. The Lanois pieces amp-up the delicacy of early albums like Beauty of Wynona through U2 power pop. One of the strongest collaborations since George Martin & B; praise to U2 for having the modesty to open wide for these two great co-writers/producers. |
Yes, excellent sound quality on double LP. |
Bonnie Prince Billy "Beware" and Robin Hitchcock & The Venus 3 "Goodnight Oslo." Both albums are among their best work and have fine SQ, particularly on vinyl. |
John Wesley Harding with The Minus Five "Who was Changed and Who was Dead." As good as this guy has been over the years, nothing he has done to date anticipates this return after an hiatus of five years. Think Elvis Costello at his best without the artiness on his sleeve, Magical Mystery-era Beatles, vintage Kinks on Willesden Green. Excellent SQ on double CD in studio and live. A perfect antidote to troubled times. |
Ditto Wilco & nice to know Sonic Youth is in good form. Other good recent releases available on vinyl include Grizzly Bear Veckatimest, Elvis Costello Secret, Profane & Sugarcane, and Eels Hombre Lobo(though on Eels albums he makes the unfortunate choice for audiophiles of treating voice with distortion. BTW this is one of the best LP album jackets in recent memory.) Costello has returned to form, and Grizzly Bear like Deerhunter is one of the better alt/folk/psychedelic inheritors of Neil Young sound. |
Son Volt American Central Dust. I was never much of an Uncle Tupelo fan, enjoyed Gob Iron, but the band has really matured with the latest Son Volt. This a straight line back to '70s Neil Young ballads with occasional inflections toward the Byrds. Excellent SQ on Rounder LP after a hosing on the RCM. |
Dylan's Together Through Life is his best new material since Time Out of Mind. The double vinyl is well recorded, flat & quiet, and includes the CD. |
There is variation in SQ between songs, and a reference to Pro Tools in the notes. SQ is generally excellent. His voice holds up pretty well-- more old master than old croaker. The album has blues flourishes not heard from Dylan in a long time, and some of the best lyrics ever about the high cost of romance. |
John Doe and the Sadies "Country Club". Very strong alt. country album with just enough of Doe's slippery blues guitar to quality as rock. Acoustic instruments in natural space & good SQ on YepRoc 180g LP. |
Marillion "Less is More." Stripped & mostly unplugged rearrangements and rerecordings of songs from late '80s through early '00s Marillion albums. Mature, sauve, unexpectedly jazz-inflected reunion of a band that never got the recognition it deserved. Audiophile SQ. |
"Them Crooked Vultures". Fascinating cross-currents of Cream, Zep, Foo, & QOTSA. Homme's tendency toward head-banging is kept in check and surprising flights of lyricism abound. Excellent uncompressed vinyl from Bernie Grundman Mastering. |
That Auerbach is tasty and earns a place next to old Savoy Brown.
Still need to find that Sonic Youth. A great review in NYTimes last week of The Eternal in concert. |
Department of Eagles "In Ear Park". The alter ego of Grizzly Bear has grown on me after learning that the band toured with Radiohead. Though operating on a smaller scale than Radiohead, Grizzly/DOE and RH have same ability to turn linear structures into psychedelic taffy. |
Mekong56, Agree that AIC is among the year's best. |
Slithering into December, rather than bore oneself wondering whether Dylan's Xmas album is dark or lite, proceed directly to Ryco's retrospective of unreleased Morphine "At Your Service." Live Disc 2 "Shade" puts Mark Sandman in the ring with Jim Morrison for title of once and future Lizard King. Brilliant trio cutting a path though avant garde jazz, shuffle blues, and "low rock." |
