Album Reviews

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Brent Raynor  |  Jan 01, 2009  |  0 comments

Sure, being a shy, self-conscious kid from a rural western town trying to come to terms with life in the big city who constantly yearns for the reciprocity of love to come to fruition, may make it all very easy to cast Jon- Rae Fletcher as the consummate underdog. He even looks the part- tall and sinewy in stature, with a disheveled mane, a goofy grin, and big, thick glasses that may have been popular in the 1950�s; Jon Rae practically begs you to root for him.

Michael Fremer  |  Jan 01, 2009  |  0 comments

A throwback to the �60�s British folk scene that produced The Incredible String Band, Fairport Convention, Pentangle, Shirley and Dolly Collins and dozens of others, Scottish folksinger Alasdair Roberts brings a spare purity to his original folk balladry.

Michael Fremer  |  Jan 01, 2009  |  1 comments

There was a time when recordings studios were scenes, and the scenes produced great records, much like bar and club scenes produce great performers.

Nick Katsafanas  |  Jan 01, 2009  |  1 comments

If you�re not yet familiar with him, Matisyahu is a 28-year-old white, Chassidic Jewish reggae-rapper/rocker from West Chester, Pennsylvania. Now read that over a few more times, do you have a mental picture yet? He dons the traditional dress of The Hasidic Jews, wears a long beard and sounds a bit like �Jr. Gong� Marley. In addition he�s a self proclaimed former-Deadhead, loves Phish and is an adept beat boxer. Now that I�ve got you scratching your head wondering if I�m making this all up, it would be a good time to add that he�s also a talented songwriter, and his album, Youth is quite the unique musical experience.

Michael Fremer  |  Jan 01, 2009  |  1 comments

The late Arthur Alexander�s story is reminiscent of Roy Orbison�s. Like Orbison, Alexander passed away on his way to a resurrected career, though Orbison got to see his rebound while Alexander didn�t. He�d quit the music business and was driving a bus whenElektra A&R exec Danny Khan saw Alexander perform in 1991 at New York's Bottom Line in one of the clubs famous "A bunch of song writers sitting around singing" shows and convinced him to go back into the studio.

Michael Fremer  |  Jan 01, 2009  |  1 comments

A generation has grown up without Reference Recordings, which due to a series of business mishaps, had gone silent and not due to a lack of demand for its consistently spectacular recordings and often adventurous titles.

Brent Raynor  |  Jan 01, 2009  |  0 comments

There is two kinds of music, the good and the bad�

Michael Fremer  |  Jan 01, 2009  |  0 comments

The timbre may have deepened, though almost imperceptibly, but caressing the soft, melodic waves of this set of tidily drawn, dreamy reveries, k.d. lang�s voice remains a magnificent, mellifluous instrument.

Michael Fremer  |  Jan 01, 2009  |  0 comments

This band of British rock and roll survivors led by David Gedge has been at it since 1985, releasing their debut LP George Best (named after a famous �60�s era soccer star) two years later on their own Reception Records label.

Nick Katsafanas  |  Jan 01, 2009  |  0 comments

In his first commercial release since 2005�s folk-laden Hotel ; Moby brings the eclectic Last Night . The album could be considered Moby�s return to the high-tempo dance music, which brought about his late 1990s fame. Whereas Hotel explored the synergy (and sometimes lack of) between guitar-strumming light rock and bass heavy electronica, Last Night is pure dance. Moby does not lend his voice to the double album�s 14 songs, but his cast of vocalists highlights his arranging skills.

Michael Fremer  |  Jan 01, 2009  |  0 comments

I haven�t heard Mo-Fi�s hybrid SACD reissue containing twice as much music, but I have compared this limited edition 180g LP sourced from the original tapes with the Ace German boxed CD set that I own and the deep, richly dimensional mono LP laughs at the flat, cardboardy and cold sounding CD.

Michael Fremer  |  Jan 01, 2009  |  0 comments

True, The Who were once called The High Numbers, but can you imagine a more self-loathing album title than The Who By Numbers? Painting by numbers or doing anything by "the numbers" usually connotes rote work. It was an honest assessment of the album.

Michael Fremer  |  Jan 01, 2009  |  0 comments

If you choose to linger on the external contours and often predictable constructive conventions of these tunes, instead of on how the musicians fill the spaces, this Horace Silver set can sound conventional, overly familiar and even mundane to 21st century ears.

Michael Fremer  |  Jan 01, 2009  |  4 comments

Dennis Wilson didn�t sing very well in the conventional sense of the word: his pitch was frequently off, he warbled, his vocal timbre was raspy and calling his range �limited� would be an overstatement.

Michael Fremer  |  Jan 01, 2009  |  0 comments

It always seemed as if there was a great recording lurking under the glaze of the original 1994 CD release. Finally, 14 years later Pure Pleasure gives us an answer: yes! Wow is there a great recording here on Keb' Mo's audacious, country/blues/soul debut.

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