Tuesday list mania gets going early today

[Jim Clark]

I call, time to put the cards on the table.

Had the chance to listen to several new discs, most of which were excellent.

A new comp from Chrisnz was largely excellent but the only play so far was in the car. The rap still hasn't grown on me which is hipocritcal given that I used a rap track on my comp. Need more time with this one to get into what I enjoyed most, as it is I'm playing right now. One thing I know for sure is that I hate having the track list on the disc itself! What's that song? I have no idea, the track list is in the CDP. I'll admit that it's easy enough to print one for myself but I didn't have that option at first since it went from the mail to my car.

Davey's new comp which only arrived yesterday so I'll withold any final judgement. All I can say after one listen is that this is some depressing comp you got here. Really enjoyed the first Fiery Furnace's track but it's the only one that made me smile. The second FF track was simply too long for me to get into on first listen. Of course liked the Wheat track but my absolute fave was "About Today" by The National. Freakin' awesome toon.

Thanks to both of you.

Also some asst. new listens:

Finally broke down and bought Snakebit by that SR fellow. Ridgeway's best album? Not by a long shot but his best for a very long time. Some great tunage that had some really weird moments. One track had me expecting to see credits for Jackie "teak" Lazaar and yet another had me on the edge of my seat expecting to hear the familiar strain of "feelin' groovy!" Dig that crazy farsifa sound of Pietra's. Only listened once since it didn't seem like a promising candidate to take to the gym.

The Cars-Complete Greatest Hits on Rhino which is certainly more complete than my '85 or so Elektra edition of the Cars greatest hits. 13 tracks vs. 20 = no contest. Oddly I'm not sure it's remastered but it still sounds good and will be a nice occasional spin.

Portis Head-Live at Roseland NYC. Didn't like it at all. I've yet to hear any Portis head that I really like.

The Beatles Live @ the BBC. With two discs I've only managed part of 1 but it was OK. At the release date of this album I guess all of the tracks I've listened to were previously unreleased which was a pleasant surprise. Much more of a 50's rock and roll feel which I liked.

Switchfoot-The Beautiful Letdown. Honestly this one was for my boys who said they really liked Switchfoot. Hey-it's way better than the rap they usually listen to so I was all for it. Actually really liked one track, just forget which one. Overall fairly generic alt. type rock that you don't really even know is playing. Like I said, a giant leap over rap for me.

DJ Kaskade-It's You, It's me. It's Dreadful save for one pretty cool track-Seeing Julie

The Faint-Wet From Birth. Love it but for cryin' out loud why o' why did they include the gawd awful and painfully stupid track "Erection"? Neither clever, funny, nor witty, I don't have time for that kind of nonsense.

And finally my favorite new spin over the past week was undoubtedly Erasure-Pop! TheFirst 20 Hits . Made me smile from start to finish. Your results would be the exact opposite.

jc

[Mike]

Also got my copy of Chris's new comp and to be honest I've struggled with it a bit, mainly because of the rap, sorry I'm not a bit rap fan, but saying that it's still one very cool comp -thanks Chris.

Also listened to

Ella Guru - First album
The National - Cherry Tree
The Libertines - The Libertines
Razorlight - Up All Night
The Thrills - Lets Bottle Bohemia

And a bunch of Willard Grant Conspiracy albums which I can't remember the name of.

And some older favourites
Notwist - Neon Golden
Stone Roses - Complete remastered
John Martyn - No Little Boy
Joan Armatrading - 1973-83 remastered
U2 - Best of 1990-2000 DVD

Cheers
Mike

[Jim Clark]

The National - Cherry Tree


Cheers
Mike

So Mike, what do you think of that The National album? I was blown away by "About Today" as I said but it was my first experience. I haven't even had the chance to listen to any samples yet so I don't know if it would be something I'd like or not. yours is an opinion I would like to get.

Thanks,
jc

[DarrenH]

Chain - .Exe
Dead Soul Tribe - The January Tree
Dead Soul Tribe - A Murder Of Crows
Anathema - A Natural Disaster
Blackfield - Blackfield
Gov't Mule - Deja Voodoo
Ozric Tentacles - Jurassic Shift
Eloy - Power and the Passion
Duran Duran - Rio
Fleetwood Mac - Future Games
Fleetwood Mac - Kiln House
Horacee Arnold - Tales Of The Exonerated Flea
Sonny Rollins - Saxophone Colossus
Charlie Parker - The Complete Verve Master Takes, disc 1 & 2

JC's new comp. I made it through one time. I need more time and a few more listening sessions to truly make any kind of real assessment. Thanks for sending me a copy Jim.

I see Karmakanic has a new release. Not sure if I'm gonna take the plunge. Does Izz have something new out?
Really want to get that Keneally/Metropole disc Troy was talking about a few weeks ago. Sounds very intriguing.
Timothy Pure is recording a new album as we speak. It's titled Bones Of Ghosts. Probably won't be released until late fall or early winter. Glad to read they're still at it anyhow.

[Dusty Chalk]

California Guitar Trio, Whitewater -- typically wonderfully delivery from these folks. Mostly acoustic guitar trio material, but the occasional track has some of it processed to sound like a loud screaming electric guitar, which is always amusing to hear, but even more disconcerting to watch live (I've seen them several times). The last track is a hybrid of "Ghost Riders in the Sky" and "Riders on the Storm" -- it starts out going back and forth, but somewhere inbetween the beginning and the end attempts to meld the two. Don't know if it works, but definitely worth a listen.

Dead Soul Tribe, January Tree -- very hard rockin' number from these guys, recommended to fans of Dream Theater.

The Fucking Am, Gold -- The Fucking Champs and Trans Am, again. More what you'd expect from this outfit than their previous joint venture, more riffin'. (And don't give me crap about the name of the band, that's the name of the band. It's not my fault. Indie has a chip on its shoulder.)

Particle, Launchpad -- very cool instrumental "funktronic" jammin' along the lines of Primus, Ozric Tentacles, and perhaps a funkier, less psychedelic Porcupine Tree.

Golden Boy with Miss Kitten, Or -- "electroclash". I kind of hate Miss Kitten's fake-sounding French accent/inability to speak English and terrible lyrics, but she's so cute:

more

And I totally dig this electroclash movement. It's sort of a punk reaction to Kraftwerk. "We want to be Kraftwerk, so we got their synthesizers, but we don't have their ability."

Tears for Fears, Everybody Loves a Happy Ending -- you know, I am completely burned out on the Beatles, but I love this album. There's something fresh-sounding about it, despite its obvious Beatles influences, and also despite the fact that it picks up right where Seeds of Love left off. Flowing like water doesn't hurt, neither. And they're much better songwriters.

Fever, Pink on Pink -- no-wave-type EP, I dig.

World Party, Egyptology and A Brief History of... -- I forgot how much this guy sounds like Mick Jagger, but again...much better songwriters than the Rolling Stones.

LOTW: Lyube (don't know how to enter Russian letters, see site), a CD that my friend Mark gave me, not sure if it's Kombat or something else, I'll have to catch up on some of their more recent recordings. Somewhere between New Model Army (in terms of protest songs, call-response type feelings of solidarity, and willingness to experiment) and Chris Rea/Leonard Cohen traditionalism (no not their voices -- although the voice of the lead singer is really good). It's all in Russian, though, so if you're into lyrics, be forewarned.

[Mike]

Hey Jim if you like the track Dave chose for his comp (which I've not heard yet but I believe there is one in the post) I think you will like the rest of the album. It has a kind of unique but familiar sound to it if you know what I mean, with some great vocals.

I don't know much about the band in fact I think the album Cherry Tree is only an ep. A friend of mine gave me it to me as a CDR which also had Ella Guru on it, which you might like too. I'll pm you

I Forgot to mention one other disc I listened to was your comp which I'm still enjoying. I've just ordered the Josh Rouse disc, I know you said the track you picked is not indicative of the album but I liked all the samples I listened to.

Cheers
Mike

[nobody]

A bit of this and a bit of that...

ChrisNZ's comp, which I loved since the rap is fine by me. I immediately ordered the live DJ Shadow, which I was on the fence about. I'll probably end up grabbing a couple morte things off it too, but I don't have it at hand, and can't recall the names off hand.

Sonny Rollins: Way Out West
My favortie Sonny Rollins, especially side 2 where the tempo slows down. Ya want some sax? Here it is.

Ben Webster meets Oscar Peterson: Soulville
This one meets in that magical place where jazz, blues, and soul meet. Wonderfully listenable yet interesting record. This is a good one for those folks who find most jazz too hectic and unlistenable but don't get into the smooth jazz, Kenny G side of things.

Old Crow Medicine Show
Great, modern take on bluegrass by some young men that know how to put on a show. Produced by David Rawlings of Gilian Welsh fame.

Junior Murvin: Police and Thieves
The title track alone would be worth the price of admission, but this one features a host of top quality stuff. Another Lee Perry production. (look for an all vinyl reggae comp in the next couple weeks once I have a chance to sit down and work something up)

Maxwell: Urban Hang Suite
I'm always pulling this one out.

Chet Atkins: A Session with Chet Atkins
Great driving music. His first LP provides a midtempo mix of country, jazz, and something that almost approaches countrified rock. Al instrumentals, of course.

The Streets: A Grand Don't Come for Free
Still a strong entry for my favorite of the year. Anybody hear the new Dizzee Rascal yet?

Gene Vincent: Blue Jean Bop + Gene Vincent and his Blue Caps
Fantastic rockabilly goodness, featuring groundbreaking guitar work by Cliff Gallup on the first two Gene Vincent releases.

Blue Note Revisited
Nice remix Lp, featuring reworkings of the Blue Note catalog. It's not like this is the first attempt at something like this, but if you like this sort of thing, which I do, this one is quite good. Not as varied as the verve ones, but it has a more unified feel, making it a better listen all the way through.

Been on the road with lots of time tolisten, so there's more, but I figure 10 is enough for a week's post.

[-Jar-]

(look for an all vinyl reggae comp in the next couple weeks once I have a chance to sit down and work something up)

drool...

[tentoze]

Back home in FL for several days, so far I've gotten one long session with the real stereo. The only new thing I have is a copy of Jim White's new release, Drill A Hole In...., and I have to say it is excellent- not what I expected based on his previous 2- not as folkie/twangy. This one has a lot of R&B/Soul influence in it. Even some synths going on. Great songs.

Although I've ranted about it periodically since I got it earlier in the year, I played Willard Grant Conspiracy's Regard The End at a rather LOUD volume level, and it sounded so good it was absolutely frightening. It sounds great on the lashed-up system I have in Las Vegas, but airing it out on the DQ-10's with a bunch of clean wattage was a real eye opener. Dang, I miss my stereo more than I thought. That WGC is still a strong contender for my #1 of the year.

[ForeverAutumn]

Chain - .Exe

Does Izz have something new out?

How's the new Chain disk? How does it compare to Reconstruct? I'm very interested to hear your opinion. Also, IZZ came out with a new one a couple of month ago now. Ampersand. I was actually going to email you this week to see if you've heard it yet and whether it was worth ordering. But I'll take your post as being a "no".

A few things I've listened to this week....I haven't bought anything new for few weeks so...some older stuff...

Dan Fogelberg - The Innocent Age
Coheed and Cambria - In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth:3
I Am Sam Soundtrack
Spock's Beard - Day For Night
Modest Mouse - Good News For People Who Love Bad News
Matchbox Twenty - More Than You Think You Are
Finger Eleven - S/T
The Honeydogs - 10,000 years (Thanks Swishy...I'm addicted to this disk!)
IZZ - I Move
Maroon 5 - Songs About Jane

I'm looking forward to picking up the new Green Day disk which came out on Tuesday.

There's also a new Mark Knopfler disk coming out on Sept. 28. But after The Ragpicker's Dream, he fell off my auto-buy list, so I'll have to hear some of the new one before purchasing. None-the-less, I'm still excited at the prospect!

[Dave_G]

Lets see:

Ric Ocasek - the one that looks like it has lemons and oranges all on it.

The Cure - Play - a live disc, pretty good.

Blackfoot - SIOGIO - okay.

Porcupine Tree - XM. Thanks Darren.

And here's one for ya - The Killers. Their first release. I actually like this. A lot. First new band I have liked in a long long time. Liked the disc even on the first spin.

I have a Glass Hammer dvd that I borrowed from a friend that I have not watched yet.

Oh, and I got my vinyl rig back up and running again. Too bad I sold off 80% of my collection.

Dave

[PPG]

Tears for Fears, Everybody Loves a Happy Ending -- you know, I am completely burned out on the Beatles, but I love this album. There's something fresh-sounding about it, despite its obvious Beatles influences, and also despite the fact that it picks up right where Seeds of Love left off. Flowing like water doesn't hurt, neither. And they're much better songwriters. (Dusty Chalk)

Right on, Dusty. Why the heck isn't this album being discussed more around here?!

POWER POP IS BACK

[DarrenH]

How's the new Chain disk? How does it compare to Reconstruct? I'm very interested to hear your opinion. Also, IZZ came out with a new one a couple of month ago now. Ampersand. I was actually going to email you this week to see if you've heard it yet and whether it was worth ordering. But I'll take your post as being a "no".

The new Chain is quite good. Matt Cash sings the majority of the vocals but there are other guest vocalists including some femme vox which may not be to your liking. The femme vocals were used sparingly but tastefully. The opening track, Cities, is a 38 minute piece broken into 7 movements and features a mix of hard and soft passages, femme and male vox. Even a saxophone solo thrown in for good measure. It's really a very good piece.

Mike Keneally displays his virtuoso guitar abilities on the final track Last Chance To See and also contributes vocals.

Track 11, Hot To Cold, is a real turd though. Cheesy rendition of 80's hair metal. I'm disappointed in you Henning for including such a stinker. It's really awful and is completely out of step with the rest of the music on this album.

Despite that I like Exe. I'm not going to say it was better than Reconstruct because I don't believe it was. It was however a pretty good sophmore effort and something I think you'd like. Just fast-forward past track 11 and you'll be happy. Who knows, you might like that track.

That new Izz album appears to be a collection of unreleased tracks from the I Move sessions and some live stuff. So I don't know if I'm gonna go for it. I'll put it on the back-burner for now.

[DarrenH]

Porcupine Tree - XM. Thanks Darren.

And here's one for ya - The Killers. Their first release. I actually like this. A lot. First new band I have liked in a long long time. Liked the disc even on the first spin.

Dave

Glad you liked XM. That was a limited edition CD only offered at PT's official online store The Burning Shed.

Would that be the same The Killers who released Hot Fuss this summer? If so, I agree completely. Loved it on first spin too. It's got a nice 80's new wave-y retro feel to it that I really like. Until I heard the Mooney Suzuki rec, The Killers rec was tops on my list of new things I discovered this year.

[Davey]

Got the new Jim Clark CRSV-Screw You Buddy, I'm Doing It All By Myself comp this weekend and snuck in one spin and my initial reaction is that there's a lot to like on this one. It does kind of fit the name it bears since it covers quite a few differing music sounds and some of it is very good and some of it is kind of sucky, but that's not always a bad thing. I only have 4 of the albums this one draws from so lots of new sounds. I'm kinda lukewarm on the Trashcan Sinatras and love that first Snow Patrol song. Hey, that Headset sounds a little like Zap Mama. Guess some indie hipster know-it-alls have taken to calling it post-trip hop, but I just call it cool. Pretty nice, and reminds me I'd like to hear the new Zap Mama album. The Libertines still rule and really steal this comp, but I expected that since I adore Up The Bracket. That sappy Starsailor closer was a bit of a letdown, but it's still a fine first listen overall. Tracks 19 and 20 are reversed on my tracklist but who am I to complain since I didn't even send out a tracklist on my latest!

Also got the latest from compmaster chrisnz and only gave it one distracted listen so far but love, love the long DJ Shadow opener. Still only have ...Entroducing. Definitely gonna be listening to this one some more since it has the feel of a grower. In fact, I just got home and slipped it in the jukebox.

Listened to my own Down the Road.....Again comp a few times and still really liking it. Maybe a couple missteps, but it keeps me happy and smiling

The new Mark Lanegan Band CD got some listens this past week and it's a fine one. And Old Canes is still one of my favorites of this rapidly disappearing year. Gave Broken Social Scene You Forgot It In People a spin and still really like this one from late 2002/early 2003. Still like it more than the somewhat similar new Arcade Fire Funeral CD that I got last week, but they're both very good. What else? Diggin' that Court & Spark Witch Season CD. Kind of a lush Whiskeytown type of sound that works for me. Also the new David Kilgour has gotten a spin or two. Just scored some more David Kilgour too from my kiwi connection! Must be up to about 6 albums now and that's not even counting all the Clean stuff! And got a demo copy of that Reindeer Section CD that someone around here has been talking up a lot. A little twee sounding on first listen but some songs I liked too. Jury is still in deliberation.

[Smokey]

The Cars-Complete Greatest Hits[/B] on Rhino which is certainly more complete than my '85 or so Elektra edition of the Cars greatest hits. 13 tracks vs. 20 = no contest. Oddly I'm not sure it's remastered but it still sounds good and will be a nice occasional spin.

Clark, did you know that Cars also released a [2 CD] greatest hits album in 95 (Just What I Needed: The Cars Anthology) which contain 40 songs. I got that one

[Stone]

Duran Duran - Rio
"New Religion" is my favorite DD song, but man, this is one good album overall. As I said in the other thread, underrated band and albums if you ask me.

Adem - Homesongs
Nice pop, but not as wonderful as I had hoped after some of the accolades it got. Plus, a little mellower than I expected. Like nearly everything else, I need to spend more time with it to get a better feel for it.

The Gun Club - Fire Of Love
"Sex Beat" is a classic.

The Shins - "Fighting In a Sack" single
There's a cool live version of "New Slang" on this, which is with Iron & Wine, but this 3-song single CD is probably not worth the dough.

Ramones - Road To Ruin (reissue)
I love this reissue because it has tacked onto it the Ramones' songs from Rock and Roll High School.

Ramones - Leave Home
My favorite Ramones album, and it still sounds great and I don't tire of it - ever.

Delgados - The Great Western
I'm a sucker for strings, and this album's got 'em. Good stuff, Maynard.

Sugarcubes - Life's Too Good
I had a conversation with someone about the new Bjork and the conversation worked its way to the Sugarcubes and how we'd both been listening to them since this album came out. I may like this album better now than when it came out, and I really liked it then. Listening to this was like a breath of fresh air to me. Really a fun and enjoyable record.

[Dusty Chalk]

1 - chrisnz's comp -- very enjoyable, although I've only listened to it once so far. I especially liked that "Right Now" song -- it almost reminded me of some old school rock, for some reason. I'm not usually into hip-hop (or at least, not a whole album's worth), but there isn't a single clunker in the bunch (of course, I'm already into DJ Shadow and U.N.K.L.E., so...go figure).

Amusing story -- during the first track, I was thinking you had removed the tracks and melded them together, and was thinking what a smooth mix you did. Heh-heh. Oops.

2 - Blueberry Boat, Fiery Furnaces -- not sure that I'm that surprised -- a little of the schizophrenia that Stone described in his concert review is extremely apparent on the album (and that's a good thing), although, whenever one takes a chance on such variety, there's bound to be some high- and low-points, and there were, so it's not going to be a favourite of the year, but still enjoyable.

[nobody]

The Gun Club - Fire Of Love
"Sex Beat" is a classic.

You oughtta hear the Two Lone Swordsmen do their version of it on From the Double Gone Chapel. It's a really good record with a mix of more obscure than normal 80s influences but I think they pull it off with some originality.

[BarryL]

Tears for Fears, Everybody Loves a Happy Ending -- you know, I am completely burned out on the Beatles, but I love this album. There's something fresh-sounding about it, despite its obvious Beatles influences, and also despite the fact that it picks up right where Seeds of Love left off. Flowing like water doesn't hurt, neither. And they're much better songwriters. (Dusty Chalk)

Right on, Dusty. Why the heck isn't this album being discussed more around here?!

POWER POP IS BACK

I'm glad to hear this one is good. I've been waiting for this since last May, when it was supposed to be released. I haven't looked forward to a new album by anybody in at least ten years. I haven't opened mine yet. I'm saving it for my driving trip north of San Francisco on Thursday. But at least now I have a copy.

[audiobill]

This past week has turned into a mellowfest of listens:

The Streets' latest -- thanks to nobody this is one of the most requested discs in my class' creative writing sessions. The group of kids I teach absolutely adores it and I can, certainly, see why. Very much a "slowburn", that gets better with age.

Elliott Smith -- XO -- see below

Ron Sexsmith -- Whereabouts -- the perfect album to accompany Elliott Smith on my car stereo to and from work.

Wilco -- Yankee Hotel Foxtrot -- in preparation for the upcoming concert that I just bought tickets to, in Toronto.........can't wait!!

JC's Latest Comp -- just received this, yesterday, jc, and I haven't had time to spin it, yet.
Thanks-a-ton ....it looks like a real exploratory disc for me.... as I have yet to hear 3/4's of the music on it. Thanks.

That's it,
audiobill

[Jim Clark]

This past week has turned into a mellowfest of listens:

The Streets' latest -- thanks to nobody this is one of the most requested discs in my class' creative writing sessions. The group of kids I teach absolutely adores it and I can, certainly, see why. Very much a "slowburn", that gets better with age.

Elliott Smith -- XO -- see below

Ron Sexsmith -- Whereabouts -- the perfect album to accompany Elliott Smith on my car stereo to and from work.

Wilco -- Yankee Hotel Foxtrot -- in preparation for the upcoming concert that I just bought tickets to, in Toronto.........can't wait!!

JC's Latest Comp -- just received this, yesterday, jc, and I haven't had time to spin it, yet.
Thanks-a-ton ....it looks like a real exploratory disc for me.... as I have yet to hear 3/4's of the music on it. Thanks.

That's it,
audiobill

Wow, that took a very long time. Mike in the UK got his several days ago and it was mailed at the same time. Maybe customs held it up, played it, decided nobody there wanted that crap and finally got it off to you.

jc

[PPG]

...I haven't looked forward to a new album by anybody in at least ten years. I haven't opened mine yet. I'm saving it for my driving trip north of San Francisco on Thursday. But at least now I have a copy.

I can certainly relate to that first sentence in the quote above. And I'm saving the playing of this album myself for strictly the weekend.

[BradH]

Hey, Rick. I listened to one of your Masters Of Power Pop the other day. Still a classic!

NP: Robyn Hitchcock - Seattle - Sept. 4, 2004

[Stone]

Hey, Rick. I listened to one of your Masters Of Power Pop the other day. Still a classic!

NP: Robyn Hitchcock - Seattle - Sept. 4, 2004

Hey Brad, good to "see" ya. Where ya been hiding?