Tag: 2021
-
The Replacements; Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash; 1981 on Twin/Tone
This was the debut album of Minneapolis’ own The Replacements, in all its ragged glory. Somehow – likely because of how I acquired them – I’d always thought that Stink! (the EP) came out before Sorry, Ma – but it was the other way ’round. I don’t usually by CDs these days, but this reissue…
-
Lucinda Williams, Bob’s Back Pages: A Night of Bob Dylan Songs, 2021 on Highway 20 Records
Hard to imagine how you could go wrong with Lucinda Williams covering Dylan, and this collection delivers exactly as expected. Volume three of the Lu’s Jukebox In Studio Concert Series (I’ve got the first three volumes of the seven). Side D is a etching of Williams, from the photo that was used for Runnin’ Down…
-
Chet Baker, Chet Baker in New York, 1958 on Riverside
In something of the same vein as the West Coast / East Coast rap rivalry of 90s hip hop, the jazz scene in the 50s had a bit of a California vs New York thing happening. As the sleeve notes by Orrin Keepnews puts it: . . . during much of the 1950s considerable conversation…
-
The Suburbs, Poets Party, 2021 on Suburbs Music (Self-Released)
Before there was The Tortured Poets Department, there was a Poets Party – the most recent release from reliable Minneapolis art-rock stalwarts The Suburbs. I’ve been a fan since the early 80s, and happy to say they keep making great albums. Recorded and mixed at Dream Hog, which is Steve Price’s studio, and produced by…
-
Shovels & Rope, Busted Jukebox Volume 3, 2021 on Dualtone
The third in a series of cover albums by Shovels & Rope, this one focuses on kids songs or songs in lullaby style, thus the “Juicebox” joke in the cover. But these are great versions with contemporary artists, including Sharon Van Etten, John Paul White (formerly of The Civil Wars), Felice Brothers, Deertick, M. Ward,…
-
The Dropkick Murphys, Turn Up That Dial, 2021 on Born & Bred Records
The Dropkick Murphys formed in Quincy Massachusetts in the mid 90s, with Ken Casey, Rick Barton and Mike McColgan – Casey’s the only one still involved as of this recent LP. They created Born & Bred as an imprint to release their own music through the Independent Label Group / Alternative Distribution Alliance. My copy…
-
Irma Thomas, Down at Muscle Shoals, 1984 on Chess
Thomas recorded for Chess in the late sixties, and made this recording at Fame Recording Studios in Muscle Shoals in 1967, but the album was not released until 1984 (in Japan). It’s very hard to find in the Japanese vinyl, though it was reissued on CD in 1991. There are no credits for musicians, though…
-
Fiona Apple, The Idler Wheel . . . , 2012 on Clean Slate / Epic
The full title is The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than The Driver Of The Screw And Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do but most people refer to it just as The Idler Wheel. The title comes from a poem Apple wrote. Fiona Apple’s fourth studio album and her most commercially…
-
Billy Bragg, The Million Things That Never Happened, 2021 on Cooking Vinyl
This is Bragg’s COVID album, the title referring to all the events that didn’t take place due to social distancing and stay-at-home protocols. It was produced by The Magic Numbers’ Romeo Stodart and ends with a track co-written with Bragg’s son, Jack Valero: “”Ten Mysterious Photos That Can’t Be Explained.” I particularly like “I’ll Be…
-
Lucinda Williams, Runnin’ Down a Dream: A Tribute to Tom Petty, 2021 on Highway 20 Records
As a fan of both Tom Petty and (especially) Lucinda Williams, I couldn’t pass on this three sided LP – the fourth side is etched with the photo of Williams used on the cover. The album was the first volume in the “Lu’s Jukebox In Studio Concert” series that has gone on to include tributes…
-
Maggie Rogers, Notes From The Archive: Recordings 2011-2016, 2021 on Debay Sounds
Like many people, I first became aware of Rogers when a clip of her song “Alaska” being played to Pharrell Williams during a class at NYU Tisch went viral – he essentially had no advice for her other than to keep doing what she was doing. This release (on her own imprint) collects pieces from…
-
Conor Oberst, Ruminations, 2016 on Nonesuch
Oberst was hospitalized in 2015 in the middle of a tour for the punk band Desaparecidos, and this album was written and recorded in the recovery from that experience. It was recorded in Omaha in just two days, with Ben Brodin as Engineer, Mike Mogis doing the mixing, and Bob Ludwig mastering. My copy is…
-
Various Artists, Bills & Aches & Blues, 2021 on 4AD
Compilation 4AD issued in celebration of their 40th anniversary. It’s a bit hit-and-miss, as such collections often are – for some reason the two Breeder’s tracks (Tune-Yards take on “Cannonball” and Big Thief’s take on “Off You”) stand out to me as does Tkay Maidza’s take on The Pixies’ “Where is My Mind?.” My copy…
-
Fiona Apple, When the Pawn . . . , 1999 on Clean Slate / Epic
The full title is: When The Pawn Hits The Conflicts He Thinks Like A King What He Knows Throws The Blows When He Goes To The Fight And He’ll Win The Whole Thing ‘Fore He Enters The Ring There’s No Body To Batter When Your Mind Is Your Might So When You Go Solo, You…
-
Golden Gate Groove: The Sound of Philadelphia Live in San Francisco 1973, 2021 on Philadelphia International Records
There’s a complicated set of dates here – recorded in 1973 and released originally in 2012 on CD by Philadelphia International Records and Legacy (Sony’s label for reissues), but then released for the first time on vinyl for Record Store Day 2021. The performers are MFSB, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes, The Three Degrees,…
-
Lucinda Williams, Southern Soul: From Memphis to Muscle Shoals & More, 2021 on Highway 20
This is volume 2 in Lu’s Jukebox In Studio Concert Series – six episodes recorded at Ponte Vedra Concert Hall in Florida as a benefit to venues who could sell streaming tickets through their own sites via Mandolin. The second episode of “Lu’s Jukebox” will take place on Thursday, November 12, 2020 with “Southern Soul:…
-
Billy Strings, Renewal, 2021 on Rounder
I first heard of Billy Strings because he started showing up in YouTube recommended videos next to lots of other performers I follow – sometimes actually duetting with them, other times just at the same festivals or similar stages. Seems like the classic word-of-mouth artist, making it by spending his time on the festival circuit,…
-
Lilli Lewis, Americana, 2021 Self-Released
Feels oddly appropriate to post this one the week of Thanksgiving – Lilli Lewis’ Americana, which is as much an assertion as title – claiming the right to her music as Americana: When Lewis was featured in the Americana Music Association’s virtual “Black Equity in Americana: A Conversation” live-stream, she stated: “Black artists and black…