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Blog Entries [990 - 999]Monday, July 4, 2016 Music Week
Music: Current count 26750 [26732] rated (+18), 449 [438] unrated (+11). Recovery from whatever struck me the previous week was slow, partly because I never seem to feel like doing much of anything anyways these days. I did manage to post a Rhapsody Streamnotes for June, and filed a tweet to that effect, but promoting the event on Facebook seemed like too much effort -- or maybe just not worth the trouble, as travel and illness had made the column much shorter and sparser than usual. This week's count is way short as well, but I came up with more than a few A-list adds. One thing that helped there was seeing more than a few mid-year best-of lists. Dan Weiss suggested Eric Prydz (3), The Goon Sax (5), Brandy Clark (18), and a few others I haven't gotten to yet (Konono No. 1, Tweet, The Paranoid Style, Sheer Mag, Wire, Mitski, The Julie Ruin, Fruit Bats, Angry Angles). I haven't been cataloguing these lists, but have started to add some records to my Music Tracking list. Last year's list was pretty deep (3077 records) whereas this year's is still sketchy (488) -- mostly records I've heard (373) plus a few that I may want to check out eventually (actually, up to 635 after I added the records from the "so far" lists below). For whatever it may be worth, here are some lists I've consulted: Brooklyn Magazine, Complex, Consequence of Sound, Digital Spy, EW, Fact, Fuse, Gigwise, Gorilla vs. Bear, Guardian, Mashable, Metacritic, Mojo, Newsday, NME, NPR, Observer: Hip-Hop, Observer: Jazz, Okayplayer, Pigeons & Planes, Rolling Stone, Spin, Stereogum, The Telegraph, USA Today, Vulture, XXL. I didn't tally them, but offhand the top slot seems to be between Beyoncé and Chance the Rapper, trailed by (in unranked order, my grades in brackets): Anderson .Paak [A-], Radiohead [B], Rihanna [A-], Kanye West [***]; maybe also: Anohni [*], James Blake, David Bowie [***], Tim Hecker, Kaytranada, Kendrick Lamar [***], Mitski, Parquet Courts [A-], Sturgill Simpson [***]. Other names that have popped up (probably incomplete, omitting EPs and compilations, * indicates a few mentions [as best I recall], titles only where I'm aware of multiples): *The 1975 [*], Aesop Rock [A-], Africans With Mainframes, Afro Celt Sound System, All Saints, The Anchoress, Applewood Road, ASAP Ferg, Aurora, Autechre, A-WA, Katy B [**], Baauer, Juliana Barwick, Bas, Be, Bendik, Big Thief, BJ the Chicago Kid [A-], Bjarki, Blood Orange, The Body, Boosie BadAzz, Borderland [Juan Atkins/Moritz von Oswald], Brockhampton, Brothers Osborne, *Car Seat Headrest, Jazz Cartier, Cavern of Anti-Matter, Helena Celle, *Chairlift, A.Chal, Christine and the Queens, Brandy Clark [A-], Cobalt, Kweku Collins, The Coral, Frankie Cosmos, Theo Croker, The Cult, Denzel Curry, Lucy Dacus [***], Daughter, Death Grips, Deftones, Jack DeJohnette [A-], DIIV, J Dilla, DJ Marfox, DJ Shadow [*], John Doe, *Drake, DVSN, Bob Dylan, Open Mike Eagle + Paul White [***], Robert Ellis, Elzhi, Brian Eno [*], Explosions in the Sky, Brian Fallon, The Field, Field Music [B], Flatbush Zombies [**], Floorplan, Flume, Anat Fort, Foxes, Freeway, Eleanor Friedberger, Frightened Rabbit, Robbie Fulks [A-], Future (EVOL), Gallant, Jack Garratt, *Kevin Gates [*], *Domo Genesis, Vince Gill, Robert Glasper, GLOSS, Gojira, Ariana Grande [*], The Greys, Steve Gunn, Bret Harris, PJ Harvey [**], Fay Hield and the Hurricane Party, Marquis Hill, Heron Oblivion, *Hinds, The Hotelier, Into It Over It, Ital Tek, Vijay Iyer/Wadada Leo Smith [**], Elton John, Johnhyun, Majid Jordan, Kamaiyah [**], Kano, Elon Katz, Charles Kelley, KING, Kvelertak, Julian Lage [*], Ray LaMontagne, *Jessy Lanza, *Lapsley, The Last Shadow Puppets, Klara Lewis, Mr. Lif [***], Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Yachty, Kedr Livanskiy, Night Lovell, Lucius, Luh, Loretta Lynn [**], Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Post Malone, Megadeth, Michete, Modern Baseball, Mogwai, Money, The Monkees, Moodymann, Kevin Morby, *Maren Morris, Mothers, *Bob Mould, Mozzy, Mudcrutch, Mystery Jets, Nada Surf, Marissa Nadler, Oddisee [*], Panic! at the Disco, Oranssi Pazuzu, Jeff Parker, Pet Shop Boys [A-], Pinegrove [*], Rachel Platten, Polica, *Iggy Pop [*], A Pregnant Light, *Margo Price [A-], Pup [C+], Joey Purp, Corinne Bailey Rae, Bonnie Raitt [A-], The Range, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Logan Richardson [*], Alfredo Rodriguez [**], Carrie Rodriguez, Royce da 5'9", Xenia Rubinos, Huerco S, Samlyam, Santigold, *Savages, SBTRKT, School of Seven Bells, Ty Segall, Shearwater, Sia, *Paul Simon [*], Sioux Falls, *Skepta, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Snarky Puppy (Kulcha Vulcha) [C+], Soulwax, Vic Spencer/Chris Crack, *Esperanza Spalding [B], Mavis Staples [**], Gwen Stefani [A-], Sunflower Bean, Swans, Teho Teardo and Blixa Bargeld, Teen Suicide, *Tegan and Sara, Tindersticks, Rokia Traore, Twenty88, William Tyler, Underworld [**], Maria Usbeck, Vektor, Villagers, Violent Soho, Leon Vynehall, Weezer, Westside Gunn, Wet [B], White Denim, *White Lung [**], Whitney, Lucinda Williams, YG, Yo Gotti, Young Dolph, *Young Thug (Slime Season 3) [**], Yung Lean, Zayn, ZelooperZ, Yumi Zouma. As of midyear (well, today) I have 40 records on my A-list (vs. 161 on my 2015 A-list, or about one-quarter as many in one-half the time). My list includes 20 jazz records (1 listed above), and 21 non-jazz (12 listed above, plus: The Coathangers, Elizabeth Cook, Dori Freeman, Gambari Band, Del McCoury, Eric Prydz, Tacocat, Wussy, Young Thug: I'm Up). Christgau, by the way, has 9 A-list albums (not counting compilations) not listed above: four of mine plus Homeboy Sandman, Konono No. 1, Buddy Miller, Thao & the Get Down Set Down, Waco Brothers. New records rated this week:
Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries rated this week:
Old music rated this week:
Grade changes:
Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:
Ask a question, or send a comment. 2-July-2016 Weekend RoundupStarted this more than a week ago, but things dragged out, making me late, or perhaps now I should say early? After last week's referendum when 52% of the UK's voters decided to chuck it all and take Britain out of the European Union, David Eversall sent me this clipping from the Financial Times, adding "Probably has relevance for the Presidential election especially the last point."
Aside from the quibble that I suspect it's bigotry that leads to anti-intellectualism rather than the other way around, my reaction to the third point was "welcome to my world." Politics in America went counterfactual in the 1980s when Reagan came up with his "Morning in America" con (more on that at the end). I'm afraid I didn't know much about Brexit before plodding through the links below. Let me try to summarize what I've learned:
In what follows, it may be tempting, sobering, even chilling to think of Leave as Trump and Remain as Clinton. I think that's probably why we often take away the notion that Leave was primarily racist/xenophobic and Remain as liberal/integrationist, even though there were many more nuances to each. But working that angle out should really be another exercise. I suspect we'll find many more angles there too (with Trump it's hard to think of anything as a nuance). Some Brexit links:
Meanwhile, some short links on other subjects:
Ask a question, or send a comment. Thursday, June 30, 2016 Rhapsody Streamnotes (June 2016)Ran out of month before I hit 100 records for the first time since, well, looks like December 2014, although this month's 66 is closer to October 2014's 63 -- must have been another month I lost two weeks of on the road. Further slowing me down was a bout of something or other this past week. Indeed, for several days the only thing I listened to was The Art and Soul of Houston Person, a 3-CD compilation of standards that I graded A in 2008 and was even more soothing now. Almost got through the month with no old music, but after spending the time on Legacy's obviously redundant extension of Van Morrison's extraordinary 1973 live album, It's Too Late to Stop Now, I thought I might fill in Morrison albums I had missed (mostly because they had been panned by Christgau). Rhapsody had all but one: 2000's Linda Gail Lewis duet, You Win Again (a bomb in Christgau's lexicon). Aside from the Chieftains collaboration, they couldn't be anyone else's records, and lacking anything to compare it to I would have been suckered -- I still recall hearing 1977's A Period of Transition in EJ Korvettes and feeling compelled to buy it even though I already realized that I'd never pick it off the shelf over Moondance or His Band and Street Choir or Tupelo Honey or even Veedon Fleece. The ones I previously checked out are in the ACN, including two 21st century items that I count among his best: Down the Road (2002) and Born to Sing: No Plan B (2012). I should also note that The Best of Van Morrison: Volume 3 compiles two CDs from 1992-2005, including a handful of cuts not from his albums, and makes a superb case for the aging Morrison. The Grade Changes section lists one album I changed from a very old grade, but omits two new ones that I originally reported lower in my Music Week posts but upgraded here: Chance the Rapper's Coloring Book and Robbie Fulks' Upland Stories. Both arrived with high expectations but sounded no more than half-great to me first time through. That merited a couple extra plays before my initial judgments, but those plays left me with reservations that great albums shouldn't evoke: Chance's flow and consistency, and my fleeting interest in Fulks' ballads. Even now, I'm not as sure of either as I should be: to some extent I'm merely leaning into a consensus I'm not part of -- Christgau and Tatum have both at A, and Coloring Book is high on every mid-year list I've seen -- or maybe just playing the odds. Nearly all the non-jazz albums on the list below were recommended by other critics who are much more pro-active than I am in searching these records out. In particular, Eric Pridz came in 3rd on Dan Weiss' list, Phil Overeem likes Elizabeth Cook and Van Morrison's 1973 trove, Jason Gubbels Can't You Hear Me?, and Christgau got first to Aesop Rock and exclusively to Heartsrevolution (two years after the fact, which makes his find all the more remarkable). Most of the also-rans came from those same sources. I've never felt more like a fraud. I guess I can cite some jazz you haven't heard of yet -- still, even there the one clear pick is the one you most likely beat me to. Most of these are short notes/reviews based on streaming records from Rhapsody (other sources are noted in brackets). They are snap judgments based on one or two plays, accumulated since my last post along these lines, back on May 26. Past reviews and more information are available here (8229 records). Recent Releases
Adele: 25 (2015, XL): British singer-songwriter, names her albums after her age, with this her third after 19 and 21. Huge star: this was the bestselling album of 2015, selling 19 million units worldwide (8,774,000 in US), numbers that pale only compared to 21's 31 million units. Specializes in heartfelt ballads. Guess there's a market for that. B Ben Adkins: Salmagundi (2016, Ben Adkins Music): Drummer, first album, wrote five (of ten) songs including the Monkish opener, fitting in with a tradition that spans Charlie Parker and Billy Strayhorn. With trumpet, piano, guitar, bass, and a creaky vocal by Linda Cole to close. B+(**) [cd] Aesop Rock: The Impossible Kid (2016, Rhymesayers): Rapper Ian Bavitz, first album came out in 2000 when his rapid fire and loquacious vocabulary gave critics an opportunity to show off fancy words of their own, like logorrhea. I still listen to this sort of thing mostly for the beats, which pass muster, but when I do catch a rhyme it helps if it's smart. A- Alchemy Sound Project: Further Explorations (2014 [2016], ARC): Group led by five composers -- Samantha Boshnack (trumpet), Erica Lindsay (tenor sax), Salim Washington (tenor sax, oboe, alto flute, clarinet), Sumi Tonooka (piano), and David Arend (double bass) -- plus trombone and drums. The size gives them harmonic options as some of the compositions threaten to break out from postbop to avant. B+(*) [cd] Kris Allen: Beloved (2015 [2016], Truth Revolution): Alto saxophonist (soprano one cut), Jackie McLean protégé, has at least one previous album. Quartet with Frank Kozyra on tenor sax, Luques Curtis on bass, and Jonathan Barber on drums. Not much of a joust, but the saxes are on edge. B+(**) [cd] Jonas Cambien Trio: A Zoology of the Future (2016, Clean Feed): Pianist, from Belgium, has previously recorded in groups Platform and Karokh but this qualifies as his debut. Trio adds André Roligheten (soprano/tenor sax, bass clarinet) and Andreas Wildhagen (drums), and they mix it up. B+(***) [cd] Lou Caputo Not So Big Band: Uh Oh! (2015 [2016], JazzCat 47): Saxophonist (alto, baritone, soprano, flute), leads a 14-piece band -- just two trumpets, one trombone, tuba, three saxes, but extra percussion -- so not so little either, especially given that the arrangements and solos all fit the standard big band handbook. B+(*) [cd] Chance the Rapper: Coloring Book (2016, self-released): I've seen this reported as Chancelor Bennett's third mix tape, which suggests last year's Surf (attributed to Donnie Trumpet and the Social Experiment) was more his doing than I realized. This took me a long time and still seems to have so much going against it -- muddled mixes, beats more slippery than bouncy, a voice that sounds like some sort of caricature, all that God hyperbole -- yet nearly every other critic seems to love it, and after a half-dozen plays I find myself dragged -- at least as an admirer, albeit still a troubled one. A- Chat Noir: Nine Thoughts for One Word (2016, Rare Noise): Self-described "avant piano trio" -- Michele Cavalieri (keyboards, piano), Luca Fogagnolo (electric and acoustic bass, trombone), J Peter Schwalm (electronics, beats, keyboards, acoustic guitar) -- plus a couple extras (guitarist Daniel Calvi, vocalist Alessandro Tomaselli). The electronics makes for an interesting ambience, or soundtrack, as the case may be. B+(*) [cdr] Elizabeth Cook: Exodus of Love (2016, Agent Love): Alt-country singer-songwriter, seems to be moving ever further out of Nashville. Songs this time are not as immediately appealing as on Welder or (for that matter) Balls, partly because they're buried so much deeper in the guitar, but it's pretty impressive guitar, and when I hear some words I want to hear more. A- Jack DeJohnette: In Movement (2015 [2016], ECM): Drummer, leads a sax trio, with Ravi Coltrane and Matthew Garrison -- sons of the most legendary quartet of the 1960s plying their fathers' trades -- their names prominent enough on the cover that they could be listed on the artist line. Starting with the Father's "Alabama, touching on Miles Davis and EWF, with Ravi playing as much soprano sax as tenor, ending with something DeJohnette couldn't help but call "Soulful Ballad." Not a bad idea to focus on the drums. A- [dl] Jeff Denson Quartet: Concentric Circles (2016, Ridgeway): Bassist, ten or so albums including several with Lee Konitz, also sings some, leads a quartet here with bassoon (Paul Hanson), piano (Dan Zemelman), and drums (Alan Hall). Has some nice moments, but the horn doesn't grab you like a sax, the groove pieces don't break out of the ordinary, and the vocals don't interest at all. B- [cd] DJ Shadow: The Mountain Will Fall (2016, Mass Appeal): Some entrancing beat patches here couldn't have come from anyone else. On the other hand, I can't say I care to ever hear the last two tracks again, so a bit of a mess. B+(*) Kali Z. Fasteau: Intuit (2012-13 [2016], Flying Note): Multi-instrumentalist (here: drums, nai flute, viola, mizmar, aquasonic, voice) and avant-garde gadfly, continues her work with saxophonists Kidd Jordan and L. Mixashawn Rozie. Jordan's opening foray is one of the most delicately measured things I've ever heard him do, and he remains notable in the hit-and-miss that follows. B+(***) [cd] Romulo Fróes: Por Elas Sem Elas (2015, YB Music, EP): Brazilian singer-songwriter, started in a group called Passo Torto, presumably also plays the guitar that accompanies these 10 short songs (27:29), which I gather were written for women singers but performed simply by the auteur. B+(*) Robbie Fulks: Upland Stories (2016, Bloodshot): Alt-country singer-songwriter, his straighter rock albums less compelling than when he turns up the twang. Same thing here, where close to half the songs are hard bluegrass and slightly more come off as deceptively even-tempered folk. But the latter grow on you, and at some point I gave up on the distinction. A- Brian Groder Trio: R Train on the D Line (2014 [2016], Latham): Trumpet player, leans avant, especially working with Michael Bisio (bass) and Jay Rosen (drums), as he does here. Sparkles, but doesn't always make it seem easy. B+(**) [bc] Elektro Hafiz: Elektro Hafiz (2016, Guerssen): Turkish musician, based in Germany (Cologne), plays electric saz, darbuka, and other instruments, dense rhythmically and enchanting, maybe even belly-danceable. B+(***) [bc] Heartsrevolution: Ride or Die (2013, Owsla, EP): New York duo/trio, singer Leyla (Lo) Safai, instrumentalist (guitar, keyboards) Ben Pollock, cut this 5-cut, 16:08 EP a year before an album with the same name -- probably the latter that Christgau gave an A- to, but Rhapsody confused me by claiming this is more recent (and only has one cut of the album, so it may be some time until I get to it). Lead two cuts show some postpunk verve, can't say as I recall the rest. B+(*) Heartsrevolution: Ride or Die (2014, Owsla): OK, Christgau's review at Noisey includes a widget that supposedly plays the whole album although it does nothing else -- no idea of which song is playing when. Not sure how to tag, but I guess it counts. What I can say is that my interest didn't wane after the lead two cuts (from the EP, I think). Indeed, this sounds like the sort of record that could keep growing on you, not that the electrothrash doesn't provide instant gratification enough. A- [os] The Hot Sardines: French Fries + Champagne (2016, Decca): A New York-based retro swing band led by Evan Palazzo with French chanteuse Elizabeth Bougeroi, their eponymous debut thoroughly delighted me, but the pleasures in this more varied set are modest: a romping "Running Wild," "Comes Love" in French, an old reefer song ("When I Get Low I Get High"). B+(*) Kel Assouf: Tikounen (2016, Igloo): Saharan group based in Belgium, mostly Tuareg from Niger, second album. Rolls more than they rock, probably because they depend more on voices than on guitar, but they get the basic sound right, and can be mesmerizing even if they never knock you out. B+(**) LUME: Xabregas 10 (2014 [2016], Clean Feed): Group name an acronym for Lisbon Underground Music Ensemble, a 15-piece big band (six reeds, six brass, piano-bass-drums) led by pianist Marco Barroso. Four pieces, most working up a rolling rumble the soloists can build on. B+(**) [cd] Branford Marsalis Quartet: Upward Spiral (2016, Okeh): Superb mainstream outfit, with Joey Calderazzo, Eric Revis, and Justin Faulkner backing the tenor saxophonist. They're fine as long as they stick to their knitting, but the kicker is "special guest Kurt Elling," a singer I normally cannot stand but here merely don't much care for. B- Andrew McAnsh: Illustrations (2014-15 [2016], self-released): Trumpet player, probably his first album, mostly sextet (tenor sax, trombone, guitar, bass, drums) with scattered voice. The sort of postbop exercise I hate reviewing because he clearly worked so hard yet all I can remember (after two plays) is that I didn't enjoy it. No telling how many plays it would take before I could explain why. On Bandcamp if you think I'm being unfair. B- [cd] Sei Miguel: (Five) Stories Untold (2014-15 [2016], Clean Feed): Trumpet player, born in Paris, based in Portugal, more than a dozen albums since 1988. Starts with a bare bones duo with Fala Mariam on trombone, later adds guitar, drums, electronics, finally several saxes/reeds without ever losing the initial intimacy. B+(**) [cd] Mr. Lif: Don't Look Down (2016, Mello Music): Rapper Jeffrey Haynes, made a big splash c. 2002 but whose last album came out in 2009, returns, pretty much to a form that sounds more old school now than it did then, only dragging a bit toward the end. B+(***) Nacka Forum: We Are the World (2016, Moserobie): Swedish group, Google suggests they must have been named after a suburban shopping center near Stockholm. Quartet, Jonas Kullhammar (saxes) is the name I'm most familiar with, along with Goran Kajfes (cornet, trumpet), Johan Berthling (bass), and Kresten Osgood (drums, also some piano). Opens with bravado, then shifts to more methodical constructions, rewarding close listening. B+(***) [cd] New Standard Jazz Orchestra: Waltz About Nothing (2015 [2016], OA2): Big band, directed by Andy Baker (trombone) and Ken Partyka (alto sax, flute), based in Chicago. Swings on occasion, sometimes stalls. B- [cd] Pascal Niggenkemper: Le 7ème Continent: Talking Trash (2014-16 [2016], Clean Feed): Bassist, describes himself as German-French, based in New York since 2005, has several albums and side credits. Group here is described as a double trio, with clarinets (Joris Ruhl and Joachim Badenhorst), prepared pianos (Eve Risser and Philip Zaubek), but in lieu of a second bass Julián Elvira plays deep flutes (sub-contrabass and pronomos). Effect is complicated chamber jazz, sometimes pushing into avant territory. B+(**) [cd] Sebastian Noelle: Shelter (2015 [2016], Fresh Sound New Talent): Postbop guitarist, third album on FSNT, don't know where he comes from or how old he is, but he's based in New York and has a name quintet: Marc Mommass (tenor sax), Matt Mitchell (piano), Matt Clohesy (bass), Dan Weiss (drums). Some tricky music, but that's what postboppers do. B [cdr] Jason Palmer/Cedric Hanriot: City of Poets (2014 [2016], Whirlwind): Trumpet and piano respectively, mainstream postbop, probably more notable for the smaller-print, better-known names on the front cover: Michael Janisch (bass), Clarence Penn (drums), and especially Donny McCaslin (tenor sax). Palmer has several previous albums, including a Miniie Riperton tribute. B+(**) [cd] Bruno Parrinha/Luis Lopes/Ricardo Jacinto: Garden (2015 [2016], Clean Feed): Portuguese, I think, guitarist Lopes the best known, with Parrinha (alto/soprano sax, clarinet) and Jacinto (bass, electronics) all converging on a fractured program of ambient noise. B+(**) [cd] Pinegrove: Cardinal (2016, Run for Cover): NJ group, vehicle for singer-songwriter Evan Stephens Hall, who has a voice that doesn't really need a band, not that having one hurts. B+(*) Plus Sized Dan: Plus Sized Dan With Marshall Ruffin (2015, Plus Sized Dan, EP): Hard to see what production duo Clay Harper and Ruari Kilcullen adds to folksinger-with-guitar Ruffin -- at least I assume he's the one doing the heavy lifting here. First song about poor people hits home, and four more point toward a fine album that isn't quite finished. Time: 21:29. B+(***) Eric Prydz: Opus (2016, Astralwerks, 2CD): Swedish electronica producer. AMG styles as "Club/Dance, House, Euro-Dance," but to me this sounds more like the more giddily extravagant wing of late-'70s Krautrock although if anything it's even more jacked up. Several tracks have vocals: they don't signify much to me, but hardly break the vibe. Too long, at least to process, but hits too many pleasure spots to deny. A- Pup: The Dream Is Over (2016, Side One Dummy): Canadian rock band, emo or so I gather -- not sure what that means other than unnecessarily loud and cluttered, which this is in spades. C+ Radiohead: A Moon Shaped Pool (2016, XL): Legendary Brit rock band since the 1990s, always seemed destined to make cushy, atmospheric chamber pop, with this one more gracious (and forgettable) than most. B RED Trio/John Butcher: Summer Skyshift (2015 [2016], Clean Feed): Portuguese piano trio led by Rodrigo Pinheiro. Since their excellent eponymous debut, they've made it a habit to hook up with various guests, and the English avant-saxophonist is an ideal mate. At least, seems so at first, although they aren't always up to that level of fire. B+(***) [cd] Samo Salamon/Stefano Battaglia: Winds (2015 [2016], Sazas/Klopotec): Guitarist from Slovenia, has been quite prolific since the early 2000s, in a duet with the Italian pianist. Battaglia comes off even more measured than on his ECM releases, something Salamon respects with the appropriate shadings. B+(**) [cd] Jim Self and the Tricky Lix Latin Jazz Band: ¡Yo! (2016, Basset Hound): Tuba player, also something he calls a fluba -- basically an overgrown flugelhorn, not some weird flute hybrid. B Paul Simon: Stranger to Stranger (2016, Concord): I've never been a fan, although he has surprised me on occasion, mostly correlating with the quality of rhythms he appropriates, and inversely with the exposure of his solipsistic personality. This has a bit of the former and not too much of the latter. B+(*) Tyshawn Sorey: The Inner Spectrum of Variables (2015 [2016], Pi, 2CD): Drummer by trade, but he doesn't play much here, his compositions largely turned over to a quartet of strings (including contrabass), occasionally to piano (Chris Smythe). I suppose this focus on classical-sounding composition reinforces his academic credentials, most notably that he's been chosen to assume Anthony Braxton's post at Wesleyan University. I find parts beguiling, but I'm not a big fan of the chamber jazz concept, or of naming all your pieces "Movement" when they don't move much at all. I'll also note that the stretches I find myself most enjoying are the ones where the auteur joins in. B+(***) [cd] Thao & the Get Down Stay Down: A Man Alive (2016, Ribbon Music): Vehicle for singer-songwriter Thao Nguyen, originally formed in Virginia but since relocated to San Francisco. Fourth album, first I've heard, produced by Merrill Garbus (Tune-Yards), whose quirky rhythms and sensibility I've tried many times to get into and so far have failed. B+(*) Allen Toussaint: American Tunes (2013-15 [2016], Nonesuch): Better known as a producer, especially during the heyday of Minit Records (1960-62; one of my favorite travel records is Finger Poppin' and Stompin' Feet: 20 Classic Allen Toussaint Productions for Minit Records 1960-1962), he has a spotty solo career starting with his eponymous 1971 album and ending with this here compilation of mostly piano pieces, the last cut a month before his November 2015 death. Two originals, two from Professor Longhair, an old danza from Louis Gottschalk and "Big Chief" from Toussaint's Wild Tchoupitoulas days evoke New Orleans, while he draws broader inspiration from Ellington, Waller, Hines, Strayhorn, and Bill Evans. Two vocal pieces with Rhiannon Giddens, plus a Paul Simon song he sings casually. B+(**) Ukandanz: Awo (2016, Buda Musique): "Ethiopian crunch music" -- vocalist Asnake Guebreyes hails from Addis Ababa, but the band is based in Lyon, France, and they crank up the kind of grand drama that turns him into an arena rock shouter. At least he's up to the challenge. B+(*) Underworld: Barbara Barbara, We Face a Shining Future (2016, Astralwerks): A British group I've never researched, dating back to 1988, most often slotted as electronica, more specifically "progressive house," principally Karl Hyde (vocals, recently on a couple Eno albums) and Rick Smith (keyboards), comes out of the gate here riding a bass riff like the Fall. Third song in shifts to a slower gear and nothing remarkable ensues, just better-than-average ambient groove. B+(**) Harvey Valdes: Point Counter Point (2016, self-released): Brooklyn guitarist, definitely electric, second album, a trio with Sana Nagano on violin and Joe Hertenstein on drums. The violin predominates, sharpening the edges of the guitar strings to create a fresh take on postpunk fusion. B+(***) [cd] Waxwing: A Bowl of Sixty Taxidermists (2015, Songlines): Vancouver [BC] trio, did a 2007 album under their various names before settling on this group nomiker. Those names are: Tony Wilson (guitar), Peggy Lee (cello), and Jon Bentley (tenor, soprano, and c-melody sax). The strings and lack of drums suggest chamber jazz and it can drift into that sort of moodiness, but rarely settles there. B+(**) White Lung: Paradise (2016, Domino): Vancouver BC postpunk group featuring singer Mish Way, fourth album, regarded as a pop move although it's plenty loud and the ten songs clock in at a no-flab 28:24. B+(**) Recent Reissues, Compilations, Vault Discoveries
Can't You Hear Me? 70's African Nuggets & Garage Rock From Nigeria, Zambia, and Zimbabwe (1970s [2016], Now-Again): Most of you world music fans look to Africa for exotic beats and ecstatic chants, and that's what you find in stellar compilations from The Indestructible Beat of Soweto to Guitar Paradise in East Africa to Zaire Choc to The Music in My Head. No telling how much more of that awaits discovery, but there also exists huge troves of efforts to imitate western pop from reggae to rap and even, here, 1960s-style garage rock. This one works because the source nations were English colonies, picking up enough of the language to carry on. Also because you've never heard a snatch of this not unfamiliar music before -- but its obscurity derives not just from prior lack of access but from the fact that we're only slowly realizing how much we share with Africa. A- Van Morrison: It's Too Late to Stop Now: Volumes II, III, IV & DVD (1973 [2016], Legacy, 3CD+DVD): More from the 1973 tour that produced Morrison's original live album, a landmark summation after only six Warners albums (plus the one on Bang and whatever Them recorded). Those albums contain hits enough, but he also supplements them with more than the usual load of covers, especially blues. The 11-piece Caledonia Soul Orchestra adds strings and horns, but the main thing you feel is the mastery of the man who was born to sing. Can be redundant, definitely de trop, but not a problem for me. [No DVD.] A- Old MusicVan Morrison: Inarticulate Speech of the Heart (1983, Warner Brothers): Unmistakable, even in the instrumentals that fill up over a third of the album, or on the two takes of the title song, the lyric there barely a chant, so stretched awfully thin. B Van Morrison: Live at the Grand Opera House Belfast (1983 [1984], Mercury): A return to Morrison's home town for his second live album, a decade after It's Too Late to Stop Now. Limits the songbook to his last four albums, two I consider masterpieces (Into the Music and Beautiful Vision), two not. B+(**) Van Morrison: A Sense of Wonder (1985, Mercury): Covers Ray Charles and Mose Allison, tries to make music of mysticism from Blake and Yeats, all this looking inward leaves little on the outside. Reissue helps itself by repeating the title track, typical enough you can bury it on the backside of a best-of and not notice how it fails to deliver. B- Van Morrison: No Guru, No Method, No Teacher (1986, Mercury): At his best Morrison makes his brand of Celtic soul seem effortless. Here he makes it look like hard work, but at least the constant struggle produces decent quality results. B+(**) Van Morrison: Poetic Champions Compose (1987, Mercury): Takes it easier this time, possibly realizing how little reward he got from his recent hard work, possibly just realizing he's in a long rut. B+(*) Van Morrison & the Chieftains: Irish Heartbeat (1988, Mercury): Irish folk group, had close to twenty albums since 1963 when this meetup was recorded, with twenty-some more yet to come. A publicist sent me several of the group's records back in the 1970s but I didn't recall them when I jotted down my original records list, the basis of my later database. Not something I've ever had much interest in, I guess, but they also were never surprising enough to make me make an exception. Eight trad songs barely lifted, plus two old Morrisons waylaid. B- Van Morrison: Enlightenment (1990, Mercury): The 1980s were a bad decade politically and, coincidentally I'm sure, were rough on many rock stars from the 1960s, but like Dylan, say, Morrison started to return to form at decade's end with 1989's Avalon Sunset. This one is a bit more rickety -- not something you'd pull off the shelf in place of his classics, but one you'd enjoy if you did. B+(***) Van Morrison: Hymns to the Silence (1991, Mercury, 2CD): Promises excess, but starts off with a streak of winning tunes leaving me no doubt that the 21-song 94:53 sprawl could be edited down to a pretty solid but still idiosyncratic A- single. I'd start by cutting the two songs with the Chieftains, then take a hard look at the gospel covers and the Dr. John co-write, although I can't swear they wouldn't grow on me. B+(***) Van Morrison: A Night in San Francisco (1993 [1994], Polydor, 2CD): Recorded live at Masonic Auditorium, twenty years after It's Too Late to Stop Now. His songbook is so broad he resorts to medleys, but also more than a few covers, especially blues John Lee Hooker, Junior Wells, and Jimmy Witherspoon sharing vocals -- also does justice to Sly Stone and James Brown, and starts the second disc with "Jumpin' With Symphony Sid" -- one case where the thought counts. Closing medley: "Shakin' All Over/Gloria." Encore: "Cleaning Windows." Maybe not the hardest working man in show business, but damn close. A- Van Morrison With Georgie Fame & Friends: How Long Has This Been Going On? (1995, Verve): Fame (né Clive Powell) was rather famous in England c. 1964-69 when his group, Georgie Fame & the Blue Flames, scored three number one (and nine top-40) singles in the UK (but only two, a 7 and a 21, in the US). He plays organ, sings a bit, and has appeared on several recent Morrison albums. Signed to a jazz label, Morrison met them more than half way: recording "live" (but without an audience) at Ronnie Scott's in London, the "friends" include vocalist Annie Ross, alto saxophonists Pee Wee Ellis and Alan Skidmore, Leo Green on tenor, and Guy Barker on trumpet. He slips four of his own songs in with ten jazz standards, leaning toward vocalese and Mose Allison. I've been tempted to vote for him in jazz polls: he's always had an innately jazzy feel, and he goes to town here with "Moondance," but the more trad fare rarely rises beyond the group's expertise. B+(**) Van Morrison/Georgie Fame/Mose Allison/Ben Sidran: Tell Me Something: The Songs of Mose Allison (1996, Verve): Cover says "with" before listing the four artists, a curious indirection but all sing and offhand I'd say Allison takes more leads, cutting into Morrison's superior marketing clout (and for that matter voice). Band is largely the same as on the previous Verve album, which prefigured this by offering two Allison songs. B+(*) Van Morrison: Back on Top (1999, Point Blank): Life after Verve, Morrison bounces back with yet another of his marvels, steeped in blues, sliding through jazz moves. Title song is a bit labored as he realizes there is nowhere left to go but down. B+(***) Van Morrison: Magic Time (2005, Geffen): Another solid album with minor annoyances, such as his rewrite of "Black and Blue" as "Lonely and Blue" (talk about tragedy turning into farce). B+(**) Revised GradesSometimes further listening leads me to change an initial grade, usually either because I move on to a real copy, or because someone else's review or list makes me want to check it again: Van Morrison: Too Long in Exile (1993, Polydor): The only Morrison record Christgau graded above me, so I figured it was worth another listen. One anomaly here is a fairly large share of covers, including his own "Gloria" sung by John Lee Hooker. The bluesman fits in an album that is mostly blues, and so does Georgie Fame's organ. [Was B+] A- Additional Consumer News:Previous grades on artists in the old music section.
NotesEverything streamed from Rhapsody, except as noted in brackets following the grade:
Ask a question, or send a comment. Monday, June 27, 2016 Music Week
Music: Current count 26732 [26705] rated (+27), 438 [440] unrated (-2). Been sick the last couple days. Probably just one of those passing bugs, but it's really kicked my ass. I started a Weekend Roundup yesterday, but couldn't finish (or even get very far into the thing). Lots to say about the whole "Brexit" thing, but no point trying until I feel up to it. Phil Overeem liked the extended 3-CD It's Too Late to Stop Now, so I gave it a try. I can't say that all the redundancy is worth it, but I can't find much fault either. It was enough to get me to do a deep dive into all the Morrison I had missed -- almost everything from 1983-1999. Turns out the best of that stretch is another live double. Only one I'm still aware of missing is You Win Again (with Linda Gail Lewis). Rhapsody Streamnotes is due by the end of the month, which is to say Thursday. I don't feel up to wrapping it up right now, but hopefully will recover somewhat by then. (Otherwise there's always backdating.) New records rated this week:
Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries rated this week:
Old music rated this week:
Grade changes:
Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:
Ask a question, or send a comment. Monday, June 20, 2016 Music Week
Music: Current count 26705 [26674] rated (+31), 440 [447] unrated (-7). First, some business left over from yesterday's Weekend Roundup post. David Everall wrote a long and informative letter on the "Brexit" question. Main point: "both the linked to article and your comments vastly underestimate the racist, xenophobic nature of the 'leave' side of the debate here." I've added the whole letter to the Comments section of the "faux blog" post. (If you seriously want to comment on a post, best way is to send me email -- look for the "Contact" link.) What Everall says makes sense to me, and not just because I'm tempted to see a parallel in Donald Trump. I've probably tended to underestimate Trump movement racism because I find his more conventional Republican opponents so horrifying, but I do think that Laura Tillem has a point when she says that the worst thing about a Trump election is that it could happen (i.e., what it would show about the dim-witted viciousness of the American people). The takeaway of a Trump election would surely be that racism and xenophobia are acceptable, even majority, views, and that's probably what people would glean if "Brexit" succeeds. I can't say as I ever thought the latter would happen, as both right and left have their own reasons for keeping the union together. But I finally looked up some polling, and the referendum looks to be very close, with either outcome possible. But whereas, say, last night's NBA Finals Game was so close I figured either side winning would be a meaningless fluke, the "Brexit" is even close is already some kind of racist, chauvinist triumph -- even if what it really suggests is the utter breakdown of Britain's conservative elites' ability to keep their popular base in line. Again, this runs parallel with America's conservative elites inability to derail Trump. Whoever thought that decades of cynical manipulation of racial and ethnic grudges would have led to this? Of course, a big part of those conservatives elites' failure comes from their disastrous excursions abroad. For example, see Record 65 million displaced by global conflicts and The translators promised visas but made into refugees by the US Army. Another thing I haven't been paying sufficient attention to is the Trump meltdown. Given a little more time, the Trump section could have grown to two or three times as many items as I cited. Just from TPM today we see Trump Adviser Resigns After Celebrating Top Aide's Ouster, How Did Trump's Internally Loathed, Embattled Top Aide Last So Long?, The Real News Is Trump Is Broke, and Panicked Utah GOP Chair Is Another Sign That GOP Stronghold Is in Play. The first of those four starts out:
There's also this: Trump says US should adopt Israel's racial profiling model. I also want to note that Al Leiderman passed away -- Uncle Al to us. Born 1917, married Lillian Tillem for 74 years until her death in 2015, owned a laundry business and did fairly well. I met Lillian and Al twice: in 2008 when they came to Kal Tillem's funeral, and in 2014 when Laura and I visited them in Palm Beach. Googling Al gets us to several episodes of Old Jews Telling Jokes, like this and this and this. Not great jokes, but more of a legacy than I usually find. Fairly hefty list of newly rated albums this week, mostly drawn from Christgau's Expert Witness (Aesop Rock, Chance the Rapper, Robbie Fulks, Heartsrevolution, Mr. Lif, Thao, White Lung), a Jason Gubbels SPIN World Report (Kel Assouf, Can't You Hear Me?, Romulo Fróes, Elektro Hafiz, Ukandanz), Phil Overeem's latest Good to My Earhole (Chance the Rapper, Elizabeth Cook), and Stereogum's The 50 Best Albums of 2016 So Far (Chance the Rapper, Pinegrove, Pup, Radiohead, Underworld). Looks like everyone (but me) loves Coloring Book. I gave it three plays, bumping it a notch from my original grade. I could imagine getting to like it somewhat more, but unless I figure out how to burn a copy I doubt I'll bother. Too much mess, even before there's too much God. Cook also got three plays, but they finally took. I got off on the wrong track with Heartsrevolution, but the widget at Noisey did the trick. Taking my jazz queue pretty much in order, which leaves Tyshawn Sorey up for next week. First three or four albums after I got back came in B or worse. Wondered whether that was because I had spent the previous two weeks listening to classics, but I'm pretty sure they weren't very good. Looks like AMG dropped their anti-AdBlock hostageware. No idea why, but I had decided to see how long I could live without it. Still, glad to have access again. New records rated this week:
Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries rated this week:
Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:
Ask a question, or send a comment. Sunday, June 19, 2016 Weekend RoundupTravel disrupts my normal news browsing. I'm lucky to keep up with my email, find it hard to write on notebook keyboards, never listen to the radio, only watch TV when that's happening somewhere I'm staying (which did get me some History Channel in CT, CNN in Buffalo, and Weather Channel in AR). So I'm catching up here, and this week's links and comments are pretty hit-and-miss.
Also, a few links for further study (briefly noted:
Ask a question, or send a comment. Saturday, June 18, 2016 Krugman's TruthinessI wanted to write about this scurrilous piece [Paul Krugman: The Truth About the Sanders Movement] before my trip -- it was posted May 23 -- but never found the time (and my tools weren't much help). The problem isn't that Krugman claims the high ground of truth, although that's usually a tell of an impending bullshit dump. It starts with a quite from Christopher Achen and Larry Bartels charging that "Mr. Sanders's support is concentrated not among liberal ideologues but among disaffected white men." Rather than finding Sanders' support from "disaffected white men" a damning fault, I'd argue that it is a remarkable breakthrough: it shows that a demographic that has lamentably trended Republican in recent years -- indeed one that seems to be the not just the core but the limits of Trump's constituency -- is less monolithic and more open to a progressive candidate whose articulation of not just their interests is free of the Republicans' customary chauvinism. That sounds like a win to me -- one that Clinton should study and aspire to. As for Sanders' shortfall "among liberal ideologues," that may be because differences between pro-labor social democrats (leftists) and liberals run deep. The latter have always been pro-business individualists -- something partially bridged by the New Deal but which has come roaring back with the New Democrats' hook, line and sinker embrace of the chilling economic doctrines of neoliberalism. Krugman goes on to observe that "Sandersism has been an assemblage of people with a variety of motives," and offers this taxonomy:
I suppose Krugman would consign me to the "purists." I did, after all, vote for Nader in 2000, and have been consistently critical of many of the policy choices made by the Clinton and Obama administrations: especially how they continued with little (Obama) or no (Clinton) critical thought the neocon establishment's imperialistic foreign policy, but also how they (again, Clinton more blatantly) have repeatedly slagged their voters to advance the interests of their financiers. But where Krugman sees me as merely "affirming personal identity," I see real and substantial policy differences, especially regarding war/peace and inequality -- easily the two most important political issues we face today. Implicit in Krugman's argument that we should make pragmatic choices is the assumption that policy options like peace and equality aren't possible, but his logic is circular: as long as we keep picking politicians (like the Clintons) who believe that war and inequality are inevitable, they will be. Sanders offered the first explicit challenge to this paradigm since Nader -- sure, Obama offered vague hope for change but that didn't amount to much -- so my view is that it would have been dishonest and cowardly not to vote for Sanders over Clinton when given the chance. Krugman goes on to speculate that "Purists and CDSers won't back Clinton, but they were never going to anyway." Maybe I'm not such a purist after all, as I've been planning on voting for Clinton (assuming she is nominated) vs. the Republican nominee all along. Granted, I know and respect people who say they won't -- they don't want to feel responsible for the next war she blunders into, and I have to admit that the odds of that happening are scary high. But one lesson I learned from the Nader debacle in 2000 was that most of the people we realistically hope to support leftist candidates will in the end vote Democratic anyway. Sometimes you have to support them in order to get them to support you. Indeed, most of the people I know in Kansas who are planning on supporting third-party candidates will be watching the polls and voting for Clinton if it gets close. Clinton carrying Kansas won't make much difference in the electoral college, but a Democratic win would chip away at the myth of invincibility that helps the Republicans dominate (and ruin) the state. Even "purists" realize that electing lesser evils than Sam Brownback would help reduce the damages caused by Republican extremism. I have less to say about Krugman's other categories, especially idealists and romantics, the sort of fuzzy terms use to dismiss people who haven't yet degraded into embittered cynics. I find it hard to believe that any Sanders supporters are as deluded as the self-described progressives who profess that Hillary is (perhaps secretly) one with them -- and I say that knowing a few that believe just that (including at least four old friends from my recent road trip). Some while back Krugman argued that Obamacare was practically equivalent to single-payer, and I more/less bought his argument. The key equivalency there is that both aim at universal coverage, and my takeaway (which, by the way was also Bernie's) was that it was important to support Obamacare because it would establish universal coverage as basic public policy. Still, Obamacare wasn't as effective at realizing universal coverage as single-payer would have been, and it left every facet of the profit-seeking health care industry intact, in some cases slightly more regulated but in most respects as greedy as ever. And it also meant that Democrats were taking any prospect for a much better health care system off the table, out of their platform, and moving it into "pie in the sky" territory. Krugman seems to be arguing for a similar equivalency between Hillary and Bernie, saying that for all practical purposes neither will achieve more than the other, but at least Hillary is possible (and necessary given that the alternative is Trump), whereas Bernie is off limits, tempting us with more than we can possibly hope for. Some of my friends think the same thing, although Krugman is exceptional in that he claims the laws of economics disprove Bernie -- although few things are more deeply rooted in politics than the so-called laws of economics. It might be amusing to work out a similar taxonomy of Clinton supporters, but it's likely to be equally misleading. There can't be all that many neocons or bank lobbyists, although their money speaks volumes. Mostly she leads the timid, promising them little and, if the past history of campaign populism from Wilson to Obama holds, delivering even less. The one thing you have to credit the Republicans with is that even in abject defeat after colossal failure they strut like they rule the world and cower the mainstream media into fawning cowardice. But part of the problem is that the Democrats have never been able to distinguish friends from foes. How else can you explain them blaming Nader for Gore's loss in 2000, as opposed to packing the Supreme Court, or the media's eagerness to treat the teetotaling GW Bush as America's favorite drinking buddy while never noticing Dick Cheney lurking behind the scenes. And could Bush have done so much damage had no Democrats joined in his tax cuts, deregulation, "no child left behind," Patriot Act, or invasion of Iraq? As with Clinton's NAFTA, "crime bill," "welfare reform," balanced budgets, and repeal of Glass-Steagall, often the most effective enemy of Democratic voters is their own leaders. It's not clear to me how Hillary, whose career is dogged by bad decisions, unreliable allies, and one stupid scandal after another, breaks that mold. Ask a question, or send a comment. Wednesday, June 15, 2016 Music WeekMusic: Current count 26674 [26674] rated (+0), 447 [424] unrated (+23). That is, nothing new rated in the last 15 days, while I've been busy driving around half of the the eastern half of the United States (KS, MO, IL, IN, KY, WV, MD, DE, NJ, NY, CT, MA, PA, OH, AR -- twice missed OK by only 1 mile). Took me a couple extra days to get this post together, so I can report the unpacking, way down below. Also didn't manage to buy a single CD -- I remember past trips of similar length where I brought back a hundred or more. As it was, the only record store I even saw was CDepot in College Park, Maryland: drove by and meant to return but didn't manage it. (I don't think I've ever been there without spending at least $200, so it would have been the one store to go to if I managed to go to one.) Still, I hardly ever buy things these days, so that streak would likely have fallen. I got a rude awakening when I got back: All Music Guide has added some programming to prevent you (or at least me) from seeing any of their pages. Their gripe is that they've detected that I'm using Add Blocker, and they're insisting that either I disable it or "continue with a paid subscription." The $12 annual "ad-free" subscription is actually pretty modest considering how much I've used their website in the past, but the way they're going about this is pretty nasty. I also wonder what happens when they realize I'm also running NoScript and have 11 of their 15 JavaScript domains blocked -- all sorts of hideous, annoying, possibly dangerous shit. So I balked, then turned to All About Jazz to at least get the musician lineup and song list on the album I was streaming, only to find that they want "$20 and we'll hide those six pesky Google ads that appear on every page for a full year!" That doesn't sound like nearly as good a deal. (OK, review-wise AAJ is a cut above AMG, but it's less useful discographically, harder to search, more confusing, and it's only jazz.) They also have a "sign up and become a member" feature, like (or unlike, I'm not sure) AMG introduced a while back. AAJ doesn't charge for membership -- looks like it mostly lets them spam you, and lets you contribute free data to them. But then I'm only allowing 6/12 AAJ script domains, and fear that funding their "website expansion" will add more to the clutter than to content or accessibility (I understand there are some cases where JavaScript might be useful, but all this promiscuous script cross-referencing is a plague on the web). AMG and AAJ are valuable websites, and it can't be easy funding them. But they're also profit-making companies, and they are at least partly built on contributed content (no idea how much if anything they pay writers -- M. Ricci has offered to publish me but hasn't offered to pay me anything). So it's hard to say that adding new revenue streams will offer anything in return to anyone but the owners. And while some websites may be worth paying for, as a practical matter most people cannot afford or justify more than a few such subscriptions. I expect that the effect there is that those sites that succeed at subscriptions will crowd out any others. That may indeed be part of the rationale. But it should also make those sites less popular, and ultimately less valuable. I don't know what the answer is (other than the currently utopian one of publicly supported democratic sites; free markets work OK for rivalrous goods, but are pretty much impossible for non-rivalrous ones). One thing I haven't tried yet is an "anti-adblock killer" like Reek. For one thing, it adds to the arms race between between sites that try to seize control of your browser running on your computer and your basic right to defend yourself against their attacks. For another, it seems to depend on Greasemonkey, a piece of possibly invidious technology that I've never gotten the hang of. (Basically, it allows you to write or use scripts that change the way your browser works, for better or perhaps more often worse.) Two more bits of news on returning:
Lots of ideas pop into my head while I'm driving. I met John Chacona in Erie, PA, and one thing he was interested in was what I was my music cases and what I was listening to on the road. I have two cases with 80 CDs each, plus one more with 40, so I usually take 200 with me. I used to load these things for each trip, but had gotten lazy and had only shuttled a few discs in and out each trip: the first things to go were current jazz I was working on, then I generally cut back on jazz and hip-hop, often in favor of old rhythm & blues, rock & roll, and country -- those seem to work best for driving, although I preferred jazz in the motel room back when I thought to bring a boombox along. (My wife's iPod would eliminate the need for the boombox, but she doesn't always come along.) So I resolved two things: one is to jot down a list of the CDs for this trip; the other is to unpack the cases when I get back, so I can start fresh next time. What follows is the list, with date/label data from the database (which doesn't always match the disc, especially in cases where the CD replaced an LP). Multiple disc sets are noted, and something like "1/3CD" means I only had one of three CDs.
Not necessarily the best 200 CDs I could have taken. There's some amount of accident and drift here, but they're all A- or better (often much better). I probably played a little more than half of these on this trip. I can't say as I was ever disappointed. Unpacking: Found in the mail last couple of weeks:
Ask a question, or send a comment. Monday, May 30, 2016 Music Week
Music: Current count 26674 [26660] rated (+14), 424 [428] unrated (-4). Right. Week cut short on Friday, after I posted Rhapsody Streamnotes on Wednesday. Missed the Festen album there -- you always miss something. RED Trio is pretty good too. The other Clean Feeds will have to await my return, in a couple weeks or so. I'll be checking email, but not much more. Hopefully get some reading done. Maybe even figure out what the fuck I'm doing with my retired, reclusive life. New records rated this week:
Recent reissues, compilations, and vault discoveries rated this week:
Unpacking: Found in the mail last week:
Ask a question, or send a comment. Tuesday, May 26, 2015 Rhapsody Streamnotes (May 2016)No time to write an intro today. For some explanations, see the last month's Music Week posts, somewhere under here. Still haven't heard Merle Haggard's 1990s Curb albums. Would have done Prince, but he isn't on Rhapsody. Didn't list Coleman Hawkins' back catalog because it's huge and I've only added two titles -- nowhere near a complete mop-up. The Joint Venture album is the only thing I've found by the late avant-trumpet player Paul Smoker. Festen was a last minute addition, but I'm glad to have something new to report. Still, all the new A-list records are jazz. Tell Beyoncé to start sending me her shit. Most of these are short notes/reviews based on streaming records from Rhapsody (other sources are noted in brackets). They are snap judgments based on one or two plays, accumulated since my last post along these lines, back on April 28. Past reviews and more information are available here (8163 records). Recent Releases
Adult Books: Running From the Blows (2016, Lolipop): Postpunk trio from Southern California (originally Orange County), first album, singer ordinary but the guitar-bass-drums is rock solid, making ordinary riffs seem perfectly functional. B+(*) Bobby Avey: Inhuman Wilderness (2015 [2016], Inner Voice Jazz): Pianist, plays in Dave Liebman's Expansion group and has several albums on his own. This has one solo track, three trios, and four cuts with alto saxophonist John O'Gallagher -- a fine match for the pianist's own edgy style. B+(***) [cd] The Bill Belasco Trio: Three Musicians (2016, Summit): San Francisco drummer, leads a piano trio, with Denny Berthiaume on ("piano and arrangements") and Chuck Bennett on bass. Standards, with one original by the bassist. Cover looks like a cover too. B+(*) [cd] Ran Blake: Ghost Tones: Portraits of George Russell (2010 [2015], A-Side): Age 75 when he recorded this, Blake is an innovative, idiosyncratic, and for me often difficult pianist with a lot of solo work and duos with vocalists. But his subject here is one of my all-time favorite jazz masters, one he should know exceptionally well given that they both taught at New England Conservatory over several decades. A mix of solo and group pieces as he picks over key titles from Russell's discography, thoughtful, testy, and sometimes extraordinary. B+(***) [dl] Jane Ira Bloom: Early Americans (2015 [2016], Outline): Soprano saxophonist, one of the few specialists, seventeenth album since 1980. Postbop, but trio feels exceptionally lively from the start -- helps to have Mark Helias on bass and Bobby Previte on drums. A- [cd] Mike Bogle Trio: Live at Stoney's (2015 [2016], MBP/Groove): Dallas-based piano trio, with Lou Harlas (bass) and Steve Barnes (drums). Pianist has two previous albums, the first from 1994. Five originals; covers from Chick Corea, Dexter Gordon, Billy Strayhorn, Duke Ellington. Can make a splash, maybe even too splashy. B [cd] Charles Bradley: Changes (2016, Daptone): Retro-soul singer, third album since 2011 when he was already in his sixties so you have to figure the James Brown/Wilson Pickett effects were learned young and have only deepened with age. Something I should be a sucker for, but impressed as I am, minor nags keep getting in the way. B+(*) Anthony Braxton: 3 Compositions (EEMHM) 2011 (2011 [2016], Firehouse 12): EEMHM stands for Echo Echo Mirror House Music, a "system" reportedly explained in the 20-page booklet. Each piece fills nearly an hour of disc space, the seven iPod-wielding musicians sloshing back and forth in an endless tumult. Of course, they also play conventional instruments: saxes (Braxton), cornet (Taylor Ho Bynum), guitar (Mary Halvorson), violin (Jessica Pavone), tuba (Jay Rozen), bass (Carl Testa), percussion (Aaron Siegel), doubling on a few others. B+(**) Marialuisa Capurso/Jean-Marc Foussat: En Respirant (2016, Fou): Voice (and "effets, objets") and synth (AKS, and "voix, etc."), three improv pieces recorded live in Berlin. Breathes, but but doesn't do much more. B [cd] Etienne Charles: San Jose Suite (2015 [2016], Culture Shock): Trumpet player, born in Trinidad, studied at Florida State, teaches at Michigan State. Fifth album, looks like it was commissioned by an outfit called San Jose Jazz although he also checked San Joses in Costa Rica and Trinidad. Some Latin grooves, but doesn't really take off until the three-part "Speed City," introduced by Dr. Harry Edwards talking about the institutional racism he encountered at San Jose State University, first as an athlete then as a coach -- crucial history and rousing music. B+(**) [cd] Rhys Chatham: Pythagorean Dream (2016, Foom): Guitarist/trumpeter, roots in post-classical avant-garde (LaMonte Young, Tony Conrad, Eliane Radigue) although he also pops up in experimental rock (e.g., no wave) and possibly jazz (if you wish to take this that way). Instrumental, tends to repeat background patterns as if gargling them, still they have some fascination. More generally a subject for further research (as is Conrad and Radigue -- I have some unplayed records by each). B+(***) [cd] Claudia Quintet: Super Petite (2015 [2016], Cuneiform): Drummer John Hollenbeck's long-running -- eight albums in nineteen years -- bar band, originally named for a conspicuous fan. With soft instruments -- Chris Speed (clarinet, tenor sax), Red Wierenga (accordion), Matt Moran (vibes), Dres Gress (acoustic bass) -- building on rhythm tracks, most of their records have been enchanting. This one less reliably, perhaps because the groove is prone to collapse. B+(**) [cd] Jeremy Cunningham Quartet: Re: Dawn (From Far) (2016, Ears & Eyes): Drummer, seems to be his first album, with Josh Johnson (alto sax), Jeff Parker (guitar), and Matt Ulery (bass). Starts off sounding both edgy and grooveful, but that's mostly Parker. Slows down to merely pretty. B+(*) [cd] Lucy Dacus: No Burden (2016, Egghunt): Singer-songwriter from Virginia, first album, guitar strum is basic but compelling, has something to sing about. B+(***) Dälek: Asphalt for Eden (2016, Profound Lore): Experimental hip-hop crew from Newark, handful of albums since 1998, moved to a metal label for this, which certainly cranks up the reverb. B+(*) Open Mike Eagle + Paul White: Hella Personal Film Festival (2016, Mello Music Group): White, I gather, is the beat guy, not that this is much of a beat album. Eagle is an alt-rapper who keeps things interesting even when I'm not tuning in closely. B+(***) Empirical: Connection (2015 [2016], Cuneiform): British postbop quartet -- Nathaniel Facey (alto sax), Lewis Wright (vibes), Tom Farmer (bass), Shaney Forbes (drums) -- fifth album since 2007. They play fast and hard, and while the sax is a little rough around the edges, the vibraphonist is a talent deserving wider recognition. B+(***) [dl] Brian Eno: The Ship (2016, Warp): Two pieces, the title a 21:19 slab of murky ambience, perhaps a death metaphor, or maybe just deadly boring -- I couldn't help but thinking maybe he's thinking of that downside he produced for the late David Bowie's Low. The other is the three-part "Fickle Sun," the initial 18:03 piece rubbing in the sores opened by the opener, the second blessedly thin, then a rather miraculous 5:18 take of Lou Reed's "I'm Set Free," which delivers the transcendent moment the rest of the album so desperately needed. Almost graded much lower. B+(*) Orrin Evans: The Evolution of Oneself (2014 [2015], Smoke Sessions): Pianist, well established since 1996, comes up with a strong trio with Christian McBride and Karriem Riggins -- two cuts add Marvin Sewell on guitar. A little less than half originals, presumably the other tunes have personal significance -- he certainly plays them that way. B+(***) Festen: Festen (2015 [2016], Clean Feed): Swedish avant quartet, no one I've ever heard of: Isak Hedtjärn (reeds), Lisa Ullén (piano), Elsa Bergmann (double bass), Erik Carlsson (drums). Four pieces, hits spots both sweet and sour, shows there's still room for a pianist in a cutting edge sax quartet as long as she makes enough noise. A- [cd] Field Music: Commontime (2016, Memphis Industries): English indie pop group, echoes too many groups without quite coming together. B Erik Friedlander: Rings (2016, Skipstone): Got the title wrong on unpacking, where I listed this as "Black Phebe" -- the name of the cellist's trio (Shoko Nagai on piano and accordion, Satoshi Takeishi on percussion). Don't know why at his point, as the cover and spine can only be read as Rings. Title comes from three pieces that "use live looping at a compositional process" and jump to a higher energy orbit. B+(***) [cd] The Funky Organics: The Funky Organics (2016, Chicken Coup/Summit): Aptly named organ-drums rhythm section with trumpet (Rick Savage) and sax (Bob Hanlon). B [cd] Kevin Gates: Islah (2016, Atlantic): Gangsta rapper from Baton Rouge, nominally his studio debut after a whole mess of mixtapes. Christgau notes "so much [criminal/sexual] detail" and claims it "has more hooks than a Temptations best-of" but I caught little if any of that (OK, something about pussy) in two plays, nor did I notice the single Dan Weiss has been hyping ("Kno One"). B+(*) Trevor Giancola Trio: Fundamental (2015 [2016], self-released): Canadian guitarist, probably his debut album, a trio with Neil Swainson on bass and Adam Arruda on drums, a few originals but mostly standards ("Just One of Those Things," "You Go to My Head") and jazz tunes, including two from Elmo Hope. Nice postbop middle ground. B+(*) [cd] Glitterbust: Glitterbust (2016, Burger): Experimental guitar duo, Alex Knost (Tomorrows Tulips) and Kim Gordon (Sonic Youth), favors the latter's tunings, finds some chatter to sample, but doesn't aim to signify much, just guitar drone. B+(*) Will Goble: Consider the Blues (2015 [2016], OA2): Bassist, second album, mostly originals, with tenor saxophonist Gregory Tardy in rip roaring form, Louis Heriveaux on piano, and Dave Potter on bass. First cut has a vocal by Tabreeca Woodside, a feint they never follow up on (and just as well). B+(*) [cd] Gunwale: Polynya (2016, Aerophonic): Free sax trio, with Dave Rempis (alto, tenor, baritone) leading, Albert Wildeman on bass, and Ryan Packard on drums (and electronics). Not familiar with the latter, but Rempis took over Mars Williams' slot in Vandermark 5, making a huge impression. He does tend to go ugly here, but there's more to it. B+(***) [cd] Barry Guy: The Blue Shroud (2015 [2016], Intakt): British avant-bassist, founder and leader of London Jazz Composers Orchestra, comes up with another large-scale orchestral piece here, at times an opera with Savina Yannatou's voice, otherwise thirteen pieces including strings (violin, viola, bass), four saxes (one doubling on oboe, another on "reed trumpet"), trumpet, tuba, guitar, piano, two drummers. Difficult music, often remarkable. B+(***) [cd] Cory Healey's Beautiful Sunshine Band: Beautiful Sunshine (2016, Shifting Paradigm): Drummer-led quintet with trumpet (Jake Baldwin), tenor sax (Brandon Wozniak), guitar (Zacc Harris), and electric bass (Erik Fratzke) -- not a fusion outfit, probably just easier to find electric bass and guitar these days. Postbop with some trickiness. B+(*) [cd] Homeboy Sandman: Kindness for Weakness (2016, Stones Throw): Alt-rapper Angel del Villar, specializes in EPs because that's what his vinyl fetish usually weighs out as, but this runs 39:10, and is solid enough. They pretty much all are. Upside: "Speak Truth." Down: "God." B+(***) Mimi Jones: Feet in the Mud (2015 [2016], Hot Tone Music): Bassist, also sings but less so here than on her previous two albums. Produced by Luis Perdomo, with Jon Cowherd on piano and rhodes, Samir Zarif on soprano sax, and Jonathan Barber on drums. Bouncy postbop. B+(*) [cd] The Stan Kenton Legacy Orchestra: Storming Through the South (2016, Summit): Kenton died in 1979. Trumpeter Mike Vax rounded up the Stan Kenton Alumni Band in 1991 to mark the 50th anniversary of Kenton's debut, and they've hung together for 25 years now. Kim Richmond is the only name I recognize, and many of the arrangements are still credited to Kenton -- no revisionism here. But where the original tended to be extravagant and pompous, this outfit is much more fun. B+(*) Linda Gail Lewis: Heartache Highway (2015 [2016], Ball and Chain): Jerry Lee's younger sister, cut two records for Smash when she was 22 -- one Together with the Killer -- then nothing until the only other album I'd noticed, 1990's International Affair (released in Sweden). Looks like she has more than a dozen albums since then. This seems to be another Swedish label -- hard to find anything about it, although Steve Gibbons and Robbie Fulks seem to be involved. Rockabilly, piano central, change-of-pace ballad reminds me a bit of Patsy Cline. B+(***) Linda Gail Lewis: Hard Rockin' Woman! (2015, Lanark): Another recent album, distinguished mostly by its jungle cartoon cover. Her rockabilly is indelible, even when it doesn't rock quite hard enough. B+(**) Lok 03+1: Signals (2016, Trost): Group name comes from the 2005 album Lok 03 with married avant-pianists Aki Takase and Alexander von Schlippenbach and their son Vincent von Schlippenbach, aka DJ Illvibe (turntables, sampler), with drummer Paul Lovens the plus-one (part of the Schlippenbach Trio at least since 1972). B+(**) [bc] Tony Malaby Paloma Recio: Incantations (2015 [2016], Clean Feed): Tenor saxophonist, also plays soprano, as a sideman he often steals the show, but is often more moderate as a leader. This quartet, named for a 2009 album, has Ben Monder (guitar), Eivind Opsvik (bass), and Nasheet Waits (drums). Starts self-effacingly moderate, but catches fire in the end. B+(***) [cd] Mexrrissey: No Manchester (2016, Cooking Vinyl): Ad hoc group of Mexican musicians, including Camilo Lara (Mexican Institute of Sound) and Sergio Mendoza (Calexico), rearrange a batch of Morrissey songs. Has some novelty value, although that's sort of what I thought about the originals, too. B+(*) Nick Millevoi: Desertion (2015 [2016], Shhpuma): Philadelphia-based guitarist, has a couple albums, plans to name this quartet after the album: Jamie Saft (organ, piano), Johnny DeBaso (upright and electric bass), Ches Smith (drums), plus a couple extras on trombone and violin. Guitar has a heavy fusion ring to it, but group skews more avant, keeping it interesting. B+(**) [cd] Myriad 3: Moons (2016, ALMA): Piano trio, Chris Donnelly in the leader's seat, Dan Fortin on bass and Ernesto Cervini on drums, with everyone pulling an extra instrument or two (mostly electric) for variety. Not fusion, but they do like a good groove. B+(*) [cd] Naftule's Dream: Blood (2013 [2016], self-released): Fifth album from a group led by clarinetist Glenn Dickson, or sixth if you count the 1992 album by Shirim Klezmer Orchestra that launched the group name -- Naftule, of course, is the legendary clarinetist Naftule Brandwein (1884-1963). This one's rather dark and twisty, especially Andrew Stern's guitar backed by Jim Gray's tuba. B+(***) [cd] Oddisee: The Odd Tape (2016, Mello Music Group): Amir Mohamed el Khalifa, born in DC, father from Sudan, used to think of him as an underground rapper but this is all instrumental, and I gather not his first. B+(*) Luis Perdomo: Montage (2015 [2016], Hot Tone Music): Pianist, from Venezuela, based in New York since 1993, ninth album, solo, not spectacular but grows on you. B+(*) [cd] Ivo Perelman/Matthew Shipp: Corpo (2016, Leo): Liner notes start (I'll spare you the ALL CAPS): "Warning, contains highly concentrated improvisation. Unless you have engaged in regular meditation or other immersive activity, you may not want to begin with a full dose." I'm a fan of both, and have heard their tenor sax-piano duos (and larger groups) going back to 1996's Bendito of Santa Cruz, so I figured I could take it. But I guess I'm too lazy a listener, too easily annoyed. B+(*) [cd] Ivo Perelman: Soul (2015 [2016], Leo): Brazilian tenor sax man plus Matthew Shipp (piano), Michael Bisio (bass), and Whit Dickey (drums) -- the latter Shipp's regular trio. Everything jointly credited, so figure improv but at least they came up with nine titles. No squawk, nothing over the edge, but the sort of tight avant interplay that keeps circling around on you, rewarding close attention but pleasurable anyway you take it. A- [cd] Ivo Perelman/Karl Berger: The Hitchhiker (2015 [2016], Leo): Tenor sax duets with Berger playing vibraphone. Marvelous at first, but struggles to fill out an hour. B+(**) [cd] Ivo Perelman/Joe Morris: Blue (2016, Leo): Morris plays acoustic guitar here -- not his norm, certainly not powerful enough to deflect let alone direct the tenor saxophonist in any direction, just enough to scuff up the edges, adding fractal detail. Which is to say just enough. A- [cd] Ivo Perelman: Breaking Point (2015 [2016], Leo): Quartet, the other names on the cover but not on the spine: Mat Maneri (viola), Joe Morris (bass), and Gerald Cleaver (drums). Maner can get on my nerves at times, but generally adds a rich dynamic here. B+(***) [cd] ResAUnance: Migration (2014 [2016], FMR): John Bacon (vibraphone, percussion), Jonathan Golove (electric cello), Erin Gunduz (voice), Michael McNeill (piano). Two folk songs from Thrace, two pieces each by Bacon and McNeill. Arty chamber jazz, the vocalist not so hard to take but I'd rather not. Still impressed by the pianist. B+(**) [cd] Dave Rempis/Joshua Abrams/Avreeayl Ra + Jim Baker: Periheleon (2015 [2016], Aerophonic, 2CD): Cover/spine just gives you last names, as if these Chicago avant-gardists are household names. Alto/tenor/baritone sax, bass, drums, plus piano/electronics -- three long pieces, just barely over the single-disc limit so 43:09 + 40:32. Runs the range of their art, with Rempis remaining one of the most impressive saxophonist of his time. A- [cd] Snarky Puppy: Family Dinner Volume Two (2015 [2016], Decca): A jazz group of some sort, formed in Denton, Texas in 2004 but now based in Brooklyn. Group itself led by bassist Michael League, with eighteen members listed, twenty-two guests, plus the group Nola International. Most pieces have vocals, few jazzy (although you do get bits of Latin and African). B- Snarky Puppy: Culcha Vulcha (2016, Decca): Studio album, cranks up the jazz-funk grooves, piling guitars and keybs on so thick the whole thing buckles under the dead weight. Personnel list comes to twenty-one, few obvious guests, virtually no vocals. Stripped down to pure shtick, makes me wonder if I haven't cut them too much slack. C+ Ron Stabinsky: Free for One (2015 [2016], Hot Cup): Pianist, had a debut album last year with Jack Wright, recently joined Mostly Other People Do the Killing. This is an hour of solo improv, not smashing enough to keep my ears turned in, but not without interest either. B+(*) [cd] Tyla Gang: Stereo Tactics (2013 [2015], Cherry Red): Singer for the great pub rock band Ducks Deluxe (1972-75), Sean Tyla did a couple albums as Tyla Gang, then Sean Tyla's Just Popped Out, then hung it up from 1983 until 2007, when he reorganized his Gang and flirted with a possible Ducks Deluxe reunion. This retro risks becoming generic until he checks some politics ("Runaway") and finds a dramatic break ("Chinee Moon"). B+(*) Tyla Gang: Live in Stockholm (2014 [2015], Cherry Red): Don't recognize any song title here, but they play from the middle of a rock tradition they relentlessly affirm -- well, maybe one title (worth quoting anyway), "Texas Chainsaw Massacre Boogie." B+(*) Greg Ward: Touch My Beloved's Thought (2016, Greenleaf Music): Alto saxophonist from Chicago, has a couple previous albums, got a commission for a piece to go with dance and flashed back to Charles Mingus' The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady. Came up with a tentet with three saxes and four brass to cover the harmonics and piano-bass-drums to keep it all moving. A- [cd] Matt Wilson's Big Happy Family: Beginning of a Memory (2015 [2016], Palmetto): Drummer, has fifteen or so albums since 1996 plus numerous side credits -- one of those guys who always seems to be helping others out. Dedicated this to his late wife, Felicia, who died at 50 in 2014. Thirteen musicians listed, but doesn't feel like a big band, probably because the numerous horns express more than arrangements. B+(***) [cd] Recent Reissues, Compilations, Vault Discoveries
Fame: Jon Savage's Secret History of Post-Punk 78-81 (1978-81 [2012], Caroline True): British broadcaster/music writer, wrote England's Dreaming: Sex Pistols and Punk Rock and has assembled at least seven CD compilations. I only recognize a few things here (Noh Mercy's "Caucasian Guilt" is a find), with the ones that lean punk packing a lot more punch than the ones that skew towards industrial/ambient. Would be interesting to read the rationale behind the picks, which I guess means the picks don't speak for themselves. B+(**) Merle Haggard: Best of the Capitol Years (1966-76 [2016], Capitol): The catalog minders return with a new rehash of old product, much as they've done many times before (1990, 1996, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2009, 2012, and that's just the CD era). This one runs 19 cuts -- the same first 19 on 2007's Hag: The Best of Merle Haggard (which samples some later material to get to 26 cuts). It has five not on 2002's 20 Greatest Hits, subs the studio versions of "Okie" and "Fightin' Side," and keeps them in better chronological order. A Coleman Hawkins: Intimate: Duo, Trio, Quartet & Quintet Recordings 1934-38 (1934-38 [2016], Acrobat): The fount of all worthwhile saxophone playing, as one guide put it, he broke with big bands in 1934 when he moved to Europe and found himself recording with small pick-up groups, taking melodic responsibility for whole songs and driving them in ways no one expected. I wouldn't call these "intimate," at least in the sense of later "quiet storm" balladeering. Actually, one tour de force after another. A- Allen Lowe: Julius Hemphill Plays the Music of Allen Lowe (1989-91 [2016], Constant Sorrow): This digital-only release surfaced on Lowe's Bandcamp without any of his customary documentation, but a little digging suggests that the music is from Lowe's first two albums (At the Moment of Impact and New Tango '92). Hemphill, who died in 1995, played alto sax on those albums (Lowe played tenor). Interesting music, even within Hemphill's catalog, although the concept is a little odd. B+(**) [bc] Allen Lowe: Louis Armstrong: An Avant Garde Portrait (1992 [2016], Constant Sorrow): Recorded live at Knitting Factory, originally released as Mental Strain at Dawn: A Modern Portrait of Louis Armstrong (1993, Stash), the band included Doc Cheatham and Robert Rumboltz on trumpet, Paul Austerlitz (clarinet, bass clarinet), David Murray (bass clarinet, tenor sax), Lowe (alto/tenor sax), Loren Schoenberg (tenor sax), John Rapson (trombone), and Ray Kaczynski (drums). Some old, some new, Lowe is clever enough he rarely tips his hand. B+(***) Lyrics Born: Now Look What You've Done, Lyrics Born! Greatest Hits (1997-2015 [2016], Mobile Home): Tokyo-born Tom Shimura, grew up in Salt Lake City and Tampa before settling in Berkeley, first noticed in the duo Latyrx before releasing his solo debut Later That Day in 2003. I have four (of five) albums at A- or higher, or six (of seven) counting Latyrx (two cuts here), so it's not like he needs a compilation to rescue good cuts from bad albums. Includes the two catchiest cuts from last year's Real People -- my top-rated album last year, but deprecated by several critics I more often agree with. A- Joey Negro: Remixed With Love by Joey Negro: Vol. Two (2016, Z, 2CD): British DJ/house producer David Lee, has his alias on dozens of albums, including this title's 2013 predecessor. Source material here is mostly 1970s disco. Mostly artists I recall, but rarely songs -- and while these are certainly danceable, that's only part of the thrill. B+(*) Professor Longhair: Live in Chicago (1976 [2016], Orleans, EP): Roy Byrd (1918-80) didn't record much until the last decade of his life, when he finally cashed in with a batch of live albums, often so moving redundancy didn't matter. This one is of a piece with them, but on the short side -- seven cuts (not counting a 0:19 intro), 29:08, doubt if there's anything here the New Orleans piano master hasn't done many times elsewhere, not that fans will mind. B+(**) Blind Alfred Reed: Appalachian Visionary (1927-29 [2016], Dust-to-Digital): Taking this on faith, as I haven't seen or heard this luxury package: an 84-page hardcover book by Ted Olson with the same 20 cuts as Document's Complete Works plus two tunes by the West Virginia Night Owls, expensive at $30. I can't say that the packaging is worth the premium, but I have been assured by Clifford Ocheltree and Phil Overeem that the remastered sound is a big plus -- so it seems even more irresponsible not to list it than to grade something I haven't heard. A- Old Music
Jane Ira Bloom: Mighty Lights (1982 [1983], Enja): Soprano saxophonist, had a couple self-released albums before but this would have made an impressive debut, especially with Charlie Haden on bass, Ed Blackwell on drums, and a then-little-known Fred Hersch on piano. B+(***) Jane Ira Bloom: Sometimes the Magic (2000 [2001], Arabesque): Another quartet, again with Mark Dresser (bass) and Bobby Previte (drums), with Vincent Bourgey taking over on piano -- who sort of vanishes into the mix (where Fred Hersch competed for your attention). B+(**) Jane Ira Bloom: Chasing Paint: Meets Jackson Pollock (2002 [2003], Arabesque): Hard to describe the inspiration the soprano saxophonist derives from the painter's abstractions, other than that her music is exceptionally vivid here, with her high-pitched horn the perfect tool for flinging squiggles about. And her rhythm section -- Fred Hersch, Mark Dresser, Bobby Previte -- is every bit as inventive. A- Jane Ira Bloom: Like Silver, Like Song (2004 [2005], ArtistShare): Another quartet, with Mark Dresser and Bobby Previte (as before), but with soprano saxophonist Bloom adding electronics to her mix, both personally and via keyboardist Jamie Saft. The electronics tend toward the ambient, which is to say they slow things down, but not to the point where you lose interest. B+(***) Merle Haggard: Strangers (1965, Capitol): Born in 1937 after his parents moved from Oklahoma to California, he was nine, living in a boxcar in Oildale when his father died, and he reacted by running wild, escalating through a series of crimes and detentions until he wound up in San Quentin, just in time to witness Johnny Cash's famous concert there. He got out in 1960, and found himself playing music, writing and singing songs -- and turned out to have one of the most remarkable voices in country music. He cut a single for Tally Records in 1962, and soon got picked up by Capitol, where he recut some singles and recorded this first album. He wrote five pretty good songs here, but the best remembered ones were by others -- Liz Anderson's title song, Wynn Stewart's "Sing a Sad Song," Tommy Collins' "Sam Hill" -- making this a "Bakersfield Sound" breakthrough. B+(***) Merle Haggard and the Strangers: Swinging Doors and the Bottle Let Me Down (1966, Capitol): Second album, group named for his first album and its breakthrough top-ten hit "(My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers," this one working its two top-five singles into the title -- two of the greatest drunkard songs in country music. His Bakersfield sound was built for bars, and the filler shows he was already rooted in honky tonk tradition. A- Merle Haggard and the Strangers: I'm a Lonesome Fugitive (1967, Capitol): Liz Anderson was thinking of the David Jansen TV series when she wrote the title song, but it fit Haggard to a tee. Haggard wrote the rest of the songs (including "Life in Prison"), except for Jimmie Rodgers' "My Rough and Rowdy Ways" -- setting up a terrific ending. A- Merle Haggard and the Strangers: Branded Man (1967, Capitol): The title cut is his most personal, which is not to say exclusive, prison confessional -- his pardon was still a few years away -- and Tommy Collins' "I Made the Prison Band" fits too, but "Don't Get Married" is hard to swallow, just one of too many loser songs. B+(**) Merle Haggard and the Strangers: The Legend of Bonnie & Clyde (1968, Capitol): The title song, co-written with Bonnie Owens, had a tie-in with Arthur Penn's 1967 film, but the outlaw theme is ditched after 2:04. Strangely, Haggard oversings his ballads here, even "I Started Loving You Again" -- a song covered over sixty times the next few years, something that wouldn't happen once he was a star (and a more iconic singer). B Merle Haggard and the Strangers: Mama Tried (1968, Capitol): A great doomed outlaw song, and that theme led him to pick several rather obvious covers, including "Green Green Grass of Home" and "Run 'Em Off" and a perfectly fine but unnecessary "Folsom Prison Blues." B+(**) Merle Haggard and the Strangers: Okie From Muskogee (1969, Capitol): Recorded live in Muskogee, Oklahoma -- sort of a victory celebration after his breakout title hit (which he tastefully saves for last), complete with the mayor giving him a key to the city. But beyond the presentations, the concert has weak spots -- a feature for the bassist to sing, the patter about truck drivers and working men, the long intro to the lame "Hobo Bill," a new song about a dead soldier called "Billy Overcame His Size" that I doubt they ever played again -- and while the title song intro helps with context, it also reminds you that Haggard really didn't know much about Muskogee. B Merle Haggard and the Strangers: Pride in What I Am (1969, Capitol): Only one obvious hit, the title song, but accompanied by several memorable songs, including an uncomfortable libertarian anthem, a case that the "good old days" are now, and one of the best Jimmie Rodgers covers I've heard. A- Merle Haggard: A Portrait of Merle Haggard (1969, Capitol): As was his standard practice, give him exceptional hits to kick off two sides -- "Workin' Man Blues" and "Hungry Eyes" -- and he'll fill out an album. Works fairly well here until the strings enter and the second side gets all soggy. B+(*) Merle Haggard and the Strangers: The Fightin' Side of Me (1970, Capitol): Another live album, this one from Philadelphia, which didn't offer him a key to the city but at least came up with a better sound engineer. He barely touches his own songbook here, with "Okie From Muskogee" the only repeater from the previous live album, seguing into his newer, even funnier "jingoistic anthem." Meanwhile, he covers Bob Wills, Jimmie Rodgers, and does a "Medley of Impersonations" (Marty Robbins, Hank Snow, Johnny Cash [thrice], Buck Owens), and Bonnie Owens fails to remember the words to "Philadelphia Lawyer." B+(**) Merle Haggard and the Strangers: Hag (1971, Capitol): "Soldier's Last Letter" was written by Redd Stewart and Ernest Tubb, and repurposed for a much more controversial war, one which had nothing to do with "keep[ing] America free," no matter how fervently the doomed hoped. More political is the one that goes "this world's never been in the awful shape it's in," although the Jesus solution is a cop-out. More telling is "I believe the Lord knows I'm unhappy/cause I can't be myself when I'm with you," and "consider all the hurt I'm going through." B+(***) Merle Haggard and the Strangers: Someday We'll Look Back (1971, Capitol): Nice to be reminded of Roger Miller's "Train of Life" after the title song, plus two Okie work songs -- "California Cottonfield" was borrowed, but "Tulare Dust" was so quintessential it served as title to HighTone's 1994 A Songwriter's Tribute to Merle Haggard. B+(***) Merle Haggard: The Best of the Best of Merle Haggard (1968-71 [1972], Capitol): No idea how they came up with this title, as this is more like a second volume to 1968's The Best of Merle Haggard -- no dupes, so they picked up some minor singles, and offered "Okie From Muskogee" (live) and "Fightin' Side" (studio, for once) as bookends, like they were something special. Christgau called this The Safest of the Best. B+(***) Merle Haggard and the Strangers: Let Me Tell You About a Song (1972, Capitol): Title is the spoken intro to the first side hit, "Daddy Frank (The Guitar Man)." But then every song starts that way (with a woman stepping in for the one about Bob Wills' fiddle), and sometimes the intros expand. Not a good idea in general, but it turns this album very personal. B+(***) Merle Haggard and the Strangers: It's Not Love (But It's Not Bad) (1972, Capitol): A batch of relationship songs that don't come easy and are anything but romantic, and a few about alternatives that don't work out so well either. Plus a lament for "Dad's Old Fiddle," and a song about New York City that isn't as funny as Buck Owens'. B+(**) Merle Haggard: Vintage Collections (1965-72 [1996], Capitol): Circa 1990 Capitol released a series of 20-cut CDs with themed artwork, The Capitol Collectors' Series, a series that included many 1950s crooners plus a couple rockers and country artists. For Haggard they had no problem picking 20 top-five singles from "Swinging Doors" to "Cherokee Maiden" -- then they let Rhino pick from the leftovers and they came up with the even better More of the Best. In 1998 Capitol figured it was time for another trawl through the archives, coming up with their Vintage Collections -- also 20-cuts, but not as many titles. Somewhat perversely, they only repeated eight titles (swapping in live versions of "Okie From Muskogee" and "Fightin' Side"), and they picked eight non-singles, including obscurities like "They're Tearing the Labor Camps Down" and "Family Bible." Nothing terribly wrong here, but much better compilations are possible, as shown by both of the above and the near-definitive 2007 Hag: The Best of Merle Haggard. And do beware of non-Capitol (non-MCA, non-Legacy) compilations, which are likely to have inferior re-recordings of his old hits. B+(**) Merle Haggard and the Strangers: If We Make It Through December (1974, Capitol): Only three original songs here, the title one of his biggest hits, the other two a bit tedious (or do I mean sanctimonious? -- one on "love and honor," the other a gospel). On the other hand, credit him as the only one I've heard to credibly cover Lefty Frizzell, and he owns Floyd Tillman's "This Cold War With You." B+(**) Merle Haggard and the Strangers: Merle Haggard Presents His 30th Album (1974, Capitol): That's just three per year for a decade, although Wikipedia counts this as only his 20th studio album -- figure several live albums, a compilation or two, and instrumental joints by the Strangers, whose very small print I dropped from the title if not the attribution -- that actually seams to be common practice. Draws on bluegrass for "Old Man From the Mountain," waxes poetic on "Things Aren't Funny Anymore," touches on blues and honky tonk and western swing and ventures south of the border. Maybe the title suggests he cuts corners to get a record out, but he doesn't cut them here. A- Merle Haggard and the Strangers: Keep Movin' On (1975, Capitol): Three hits, none of which I'd recognize as a Haggard song save for his unique voice (actually, one is Dolly Parton's "Kentucky Gambler"). The disconnect is furthered by an original, "Life's Like Poetry," which you're more likely to recall in Lefty Frizzell's cover. The Nashville production doesn't help, until the closer, "Man's Gotta Give Up a Lot," where Haggard turns on his best Lefty impersonation. B Merle Haggard and the Strangers: It's All in the Movies (1976, Capitol): One single, always found it rather sweet but at least it's clearly him, as is the not-quite-jingoistic "Let's Stop Pretending," but he seems to be having trouble bagging his limit, resorting to Bob Wills and Dolly Parton on the homestretch. B+(*) Merle Haggard and the Strangers: My Love Affair With Trains (1976, Capitol): Eleven train songs, none by Jimmie Rodgers, only one by Haggard ("No More Trains to Ride"), the concept stitched together with narration and sound effects. B Merle Haggard and the Strangers: The Roots of My Raising (1976, Capitol): Haggard should have written the title tune but Tommy Collins, practically his alter ego, channeled him perfectly. Haggard, in fact, only wrote one song here, but when he saw "roots" in the title he boned up on Jimmie Rodgers (two songs), Lefty Frizzell (a marvelous "I Never Go Around Mirrors"), and Bob Wills ("Cherokee Maiden") -- actually, Cindy Walker wrote it, and Haggard turned it into a hit. B+(***) Merle Haggard and the Strangers: A Working Man Can't Get Nowhere Today (1975-76 [1977], Capitol): Came out a few months after Haggard's first MCA album, so technically a collection of leftovers but actually one of his strongest Capitol albums. "I'm a White Boy" seems, uh, dated, which may be why such a catchy thing never caught on, but the title song is truer today than ever. And the filler -- which includes "Blues Stay Away From Me," "Moanin' the Blues," and "Blues for Dixie" -- has rarely been sung better, and that's saying something. A- Merle Haggard: 20 Greatest Hits (1966-76 [2002], Capitol): A pretty good intro sampler without touching any of his post-Capitol catalog (as 2007's 26-cut Hag: The Best of Merle Haggard does), although you can always quibble on these things. A- Merle Haggard: Ramblin' Fever (1977, MCA): After twelve years with Capitol, Haggard divorced Bonnie Owens and moved to Nashville for a short stint with MCA before moving on to Epic in 1981. He wrote the title cut and co-wrote one more, but not "If We're Not Back in Love by Monday," which always struck me as one of his signature songs. No roots here, and too many strings, but he could really turn a ballad. B+(*) Merle Haggard: My Farewell to Elvis (1977, MCA): Rushed out in October after Presley died in August, with an opening song by Haggard ("From Graceland to the Promised Land") leading into an oddly amusing "In the Ghetto" followed by '50s rockers, "Blue Christmas," and "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" Haggard does a fair impersonation with the Jordanaires helping out but if you want a record that sounds like Elvis, there are obvious alternatives. B- Merle Haggard: The Way I Am (1980, MCA): After the Sonny Throckmorton title song comes "Sky-Bo" -- too big a conceptual stretch to work as a song. Then a bunch of stuff I've already forgotten, until the home stretch where you get "It Makes No Difference Now" and three Ernest Tubb classics. Curious how Haggard replicates Tubb's pace and intonation, invoking the original while cleaning up that notorious nasal twang. B+(**) Merle Haggard: Back to the Barrooms (1980, MCA): More drinking song, practically a sub-genre within country music, one he made his mark in early ("Swinging Doors," "The Bottle Let Me Down"), so no big surprise he'd pick that as an album theme -- even if this didn't coincide with a divorce and too much drinking. "Gin and Misery" is indeed miserable, something I blame on the string-laden production. But the budget didn't allow for Jimmy Bowen to ruin the entire album, so eventually Haggard rights it -- with one from Hank Jr., his own tribute to Tommy Collins, and one more bar classic, "I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink." B+(*) Merle Haggard: Rainbow Stew: Live at Anaheim Stadium (1980 [1981], MCA): Moving on to Epic, Haggard sloughed off the two albums he still owed to MCA with a gospel set and this live joint. Starts with four songs from Back to the Barrooms then starts to have fun, probing the back catalogue, breaking for a single with the title cut -- hearing it today makes me think it would work as Bernie's campaign theme song -- a blue yodel and the 3:48 "Fiddle Breakdown." Closes with a remarkable "Sing Me Back Home," where even an audience geared to party recognizes something solemn. B+(***) Merle Haggard: Big City (1981, Epic): After seven 1977-80 albums with MCA, first album with Epic, with Haggard penning (or co-credited) with eight of ten songs. Most look backwards, which is where he's most comfortable. B+(**) Merle Haggard and George Jones: A Taste of Yesterday's Wine (1982, Epic): Label mates at last, so why not? Produced by Billy Sherrill, who assumed the magic would just happen. It doesn't. B Merle Haggard: Going Where the Lonely Go (1982, Epic): Mellowing out, although the two songs from sometime-wife Leona Williams sound like something he was forced to record by couples counseling ("You Take Me for Granted" and "Someday You're Gonna Need Your Friends Again"). And "Why Am I Drinkin'" can't be a healthful sign. B+(*) Merle Haggard: That's the Way Love Goes (1983, Epic): Title song from Lefty Frizzell, sets the tone for about as normal a set of love ballads as he's ever done, unspectacular in every way but the voice. B+(*) Merle Haggard: It's All in the Game (1984, Epic): Freddy Powers wrote or co-wrote five of ten songs, Haggard having a hand in three but only one solo credit. The covers lean mawkish, with the pairing of "Thank Heaven for Little Girls" and "To All the Girls I've Loved Before" particularly creepy, but the nod to the late Ernest Tubb is spot on. B+(*) Merle Haggard: Kern River (1985, Epic): The river in question runs from the slopes of Mt. Whitney through deep canyons down to Bakersfield in the south end of the San Joaquin Valley. The song is about a death in that river, and is suitably gloom. The rest of the album meanders rather than rushes, with "Big Butter and Egg Man" a curious cover, and not the only one that swings. B+(*) Merle Haggard: Amber Waves of Grain (1985, Epic): Short (27:44) live album built around Freddy Powers' Japan-bashing title track ("would we buy our bread and butter from the Toyota man/would an Idaho spud be stamped 'Made in Japan'"), with three old hits ("Mama Tried," "Okie From Muskogee," "Workin' Man Blues") worked into medleys, two lesser-known oldies, and "American Waltz" to close. Inoffensive compared to the Reagan era, but insubstantial too. B- Merle Haggard: A Friend in California (1986, Epic): A fairly solid album, with six originals, a cover of Floyd Tillman's "This Cold War With You," and Freddy Powers' gentle title song, all carried by his voice and the band's practiced swing. B+(**) Merle Haggard: Out Among the Stars (1986, Epic): Two singles here peaked at 21 and 58, a bit better than 1985's Amber Waves of Grain (36 and 60) but a big drop from previous years (like three number one country hits in 1984). Nothing bad here, but the only one I really loved was his Dixieland take on "Pennies From Heaven" -- shows he could have been one helluva jazz singer if he had went that way. B Merle Haggard/George Jones/Willie Nelson: Walking the Line (1987, Epic): Note that none of the songs feature all three singers, and while I haven't tracked them all down those I have appeared on previous duo or solo albums: two each from Haggard's 1982 duos, one with Nelson from Jones' 1979 My Very Special Guests. All the others are songs I recognize, even if I don't recall where. Not bad, but something of a fraud. B- Merle Haggard: 5:01 Blues (1989, Epic): Sobering thought that the song that perks your ears up here is "Sea of Heartbreak" -- shows that he could have carried on as a cornball hack until we lost all interest -- but he recovers a bit at the end with "A Thousand Lies Ago" and "Somewhere Down the Line.' As it was, this was his last album for Epic, and he entered a lost decade -- only three albums on Curb in the 1990s, a mere ten percent of his prime decade. Then in 2000 he rediscovered himself as a grizzled old man, picked up by the same alt-rock label that had resuscitated Tom Waits. B Coleman Hawkins and Chu Berry: Tenor Giants (1938-43 [2000], Polygram): Part of a series of compilations from Milt Gabler's Commodore Records (founded 1938 and folded into Decca after WWII), not sure how I missed picking up this particular one. (I recommend the 2-CD The Commodore Story and single-artist sets by Eddie Condon and Lester Young, probably others if I racked my brain -- not an especially good period for Billie Holiday but not to be avoided.) These were scraps: two sessions each for Hawkins and Berry, none together. Berry, who died young (1908-41) played in the Fletcher Henderson and Cab Calloway bands, but doesn't have much as a leader. His sets here are fine, and Hawk's -- no surprise -- are even better. B+(***) Joint Venture: Ways (1989 [1990], Enja): Group name has been used many times (Discogs lists them as number 10), but this particular one recorded three 1987-94 albums, the principals being: Ellery Eskelin (tenor sax), Paul Smoker (trumpet), Drew Gress (bass), and Phil Haynes (drums). Somewhat hit-and-miss, although both horns have hot streaks. B+(***) Bonnie Owens and Merle Haggard With the Strangers: Just Between the Two of Us (1966 [2015], Capitol): Originally recorded for Tally but picked up and released as part of the deal that brought Haggard to Capitol. Not sure if this was the original attribution -- aside from the 2015 digital-only release, the only cover scan I'm seeing is a 2000 reissue on King that lists Haggard first. She was born Bonnie Campbell, started singing in 1947 and married Buck Owens in 1948, leaving around 1951. She met Haggard much later, married him in 1965, divorced him in 1978. She released six solo albums 1965-70, this one duet album, and backup up until their divorce and some years afterward. Nothing special, but they do sound good together. B+(**) Blind Alfred Reed: Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order (1927-1929) (1927-29 [2012], Document): Old-time country fiddler-singer, best known for the Depression Era classic "How Can a Poor Man Stand Such Times and Live." Dust-to-Digital has a new edition, Appalachian Visionary, which remasters these twenty songs (plus two from the West Virginia Night Owls), packaged in a fancy 84-page hardcover book, but this is the set I found, and I can't complain about the sound. Several classics I recognize here, including a vision of heaven ("There'll Be No Distinction There") stunningly racist ("we'll all be white in that heavenly light") and sexist ("no aggravating women to boss the men around") and more jaw-droppers I had missed ("Woman's Been After Man Ever Since." Catchy in a primitive way, and sometimes you should face history warts and all. A- Matt Wilson: As Wave Follows Wave (1996, Palmetto): First album, drummer-led tenor sax trio -- Dewey Redman and Cecil McBee -- with Larry Goldings joining in on organ on a couple cuts. B+(**) Matt Wilson Quaret: Smile (1999, Palmetto): Two saxes here, with Joel Frahm (tenor/soprano) the steady hand, Andrew D'Angelo (alto/bass clarinet) the wild card. Yosuke Inoue plays acoustic and electric basses. B+(***) Matt Wilson: Arts and Crafts (2000 [2001], Palmetto): Another quartet, more conventional with piano (Larry Goldings), bass (Dennis Irwin), and one horn -- Terell Stafford on trumpet -- the album the namesake/group he would return to three more times. B+(***) Matt Wilson Quartet: Humidity (2002 [2003], Palmetto): Back to two saxes plus Yosuke Inoue's acoustic and electric bass, only with Jeff Lederer replacing Joel Frahm on tenor/soprano sax -- closer in tone and dynamics to Andrew D'Angelo (alto sax/bass clarinet). They sound like a double-barrel shotgun edition of Ornette Coleman -- not "double your fun" but at least some sort of approximation. A- Additional Consumer News:Previous grades on artists in the old music section.
NotesEverything streamed from Rhapsody, except as noted in brackets following the grade:
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