Billy Corgan - The Future Embrace

Reprise/ Warner Bros.

When asked what the name of The Smashing Pumpkins meant Billy Corgan once answered: "It is a punch line to a joke." I have, once, wondered about that joke. Perhaps, it was a joke on all of us. The Future Embrace exposes that the Billy Corgan experience is without the humor that spawned the name of his previous band. The "first" album from Billy Corgan peddles no puns and gives little to laugh about, but what else can be expected from the bald-headed balladeer. What one can expect from the Chicago native is a placidly paced and pain furnished style. The dissolution of the Pumpkins and the short lived Zwan have left Billy Corgan in an introspective mood, and we all get to hear his lamentations, platitudes and posturing on love, love and love.
Corgan's treatise on love begins with an apt introduction. The opening song, "All Things Change," bounces in a lumbering big beat universe with Corgan's extraterrestrial adenoid vocals surging past in guttural phrases and sugary refrains. Fluorescent fuzz floods the song, and Corgan is at his best without the music. The lyrics are a discussion on the meaning of, all things, change, and the words manage to deliver where the music fails.
Though there may be no way to change the Pumpkins back into a functional band, Corgan does his best to recreate Adore and Machina/The Machines of God on "Mina Loy." Despite the collegiate nature of the title (Mina Loy is a modernist poet), the track's mechanical pulse and fuzz work in Corgan's favor. "Camereye" is less focused on the mechanics, and does well to rely on his voice and a bassline. The Cure's Robert Smith comes to rescue the trip-hop shutter and swell of "toLOVEsomebody." His muted backing vocals pull this overly epic movement from a flaccid failure. However, as much as the track is predictable, it is more enjoyable than the Bee Gees' original. "Pretty, Pretty Star" and the closer, "Strayz" pull the record up considerably. These two tracks are a strong closing movement, which may dissuade some from discounting Corgan. The Future Embrace cannot be the Pumpkins, which is good, however it could have been Zwan, which would have been more fun. The depression and longing of Billy Corgan will persist unabated, but the album has it moments, and the lyrics make even "Smart" pop artists sound like nursery rhymes. Verdict: Buy Zwan to catch up with what post-Pumpkins Corgan can sound like and download "Pretty, Pretty Star" and "Strayz."

Joanne Shenandoah - Skywoman: A Symphonic Odyssey of Iroquois Legends

Silver Wave

Long before Pecos Bill, Babe the Blue Ox and her companion Paul Bunion there were tall-tales of another sort floating from the tongues of the Americans. These were the Native American tales, fables and origin stories. Joanne Shenandoah, a Native American composer and two-time Grammy nominated recording artist, along with acclaimed composer and guitarist Gerhand Rebmann have come together to produce Skywoman. The project was inspired through a series of walks through the fields of Ganondagan and an Adirondack camping experience. From those natural settings the idea came to Shenandoah to sing a selection of Native American tales.
The tracks on Skywoman are expansive soundscapes of full orchestration. Yet, perpetually at the center is ShenandoahÕs pure and peaceful voice. The lyrics cast off the confessional space to create tales of the Iroquois, Senaca, and the whales in the ocean. This introduction to some of the fables and teachings in the oral traditions of Native Americans is an enriching experience.

Delbert McClinton - Cost of Living

New West (Release Date: August 23rd, 2005)

Want to hear the man who taught John Lennon to play the harmonica? Or would you rather hear a blues musician who defied the traditions of the form to include country, soul and rock'n'roll? Or would it be a better time if you could hear the man who has written songs for Wynonna, Vince Gill, Lee Roy Parnell and Martina McBride? If you listen to Delbert McClinton you don't have to choose; he's all three and more. One may recall the 1980 soul-fryed "Givin' It Up for Your Love."
This eclectic bluesman developed his genre-bending style through a maturation in the honky-tonks and blues clubs in Lubbock, TX. There, as a house musician, he was expected to play many different styles of music. That requisite allows McClinton to seamlessly blend rock into blues, blues into soul and even soulful tropes into country. His ability to encompass many styles never strays far from the blues in lyrical content. The cuts on Cost Of Living create vignettes of love, or love lost, or boozing. Basically, everything we like!
"One of the Fortunate Few" opens this, the third album from McClinton on New West Records. The rough hewn delivery of his vocals catches this blue-rocker on the edge of predictability. There is an easily recognizable series of chords, as the blues is always already filled with simple chords. Yet, his voice growls up and delivers. "Right to Be Wrong" dredges up the excuses of an infedility prone fool, as McClinton's guttural grind calls out to the blues staple, "baby." The song pleads with its horns for a lover to deliver redemption. "The Part I Like Best" is a surprisingly buoyant and emphatic tune, as he lauds the woman in his life. Of course, the woman is at her best when she makes love to him. "I'll Change My Style" move away from the fusion foundations of the first three tracks into the straight blues. The pain of a waning love comes through in McClinton's strongest vocal attack. The song sets his voice right where it should be, down low, depressed and willing to negotiate: "I'll change style, I'll even change my smile ..." and even his heart beat.
The blues is where McClinton belongs, as the most outstanding cuts come from the straight-ahead blues. "Your Memory, Me And The Blues" exemplifies McClinton's aptitude to recreate a post-breakup situation with clarity and universal triggers. The end comes as this image: 'When I make coffee/I still make coffee for two/ But I should be making coffee for three/ You, me and the blues." The Blue-eyed blues do not get any better than this. Delbert McClinton has delivered what he always delivers: a genre-blending, thoroughly enjoyable and always relatable music. Cost Of Living is another exceptional album from this unrecognized musical mastermind.

The String Quartet - Tribute to Godsmack

Vitamin

The Boston Metal scene has always been known for... wait it will come... Well, they are known for the new-metal opportunists, Godsmack. Their 1998 self-titled record took vocalist Sully Erna, guitarist Tony Rambola, bassist Robbie Merrill and drummer Tommy Stewart from Bean Town bruisers to multi-platinum darlings of rock'n'roll radio. Their hits were "Voodoo" and "Whatever." These two songs introduced the American hesher population to their frenzied, down-tuned and chunky sound. This established them as yet another on the new-metal bandwagon. The songs are rich with riff-heavy, layered-tunes and sharp, confident lyric.
The String Quartet Tribute to Godsmack takes the somewhat plain sections of metal from the Boston rockers and replaces it with a haunting series of rubbed strings. "Voodoo" pulses with the same tribal percussive elements that made it a hit, yet this time around the violin moves into the vocalist role and does it better. "Faceless" suddenly becomes listenable, and "I Stand Alone" receives the same treatment. Each track is stunningly transformed from the cookie-cutter metal of Godsmack into soaring demonstrations of the power that a quartet can produce. If you like Godsmack's music, but were afraid to listen to them in front of your friends, this record is for you.

Doomtree - Down Below

Long Live Crime

"I am the chosen one; Walks around this world of emptiness; with these feelings of hope and fear; With the system of a down; Your life will be forever gone..." These lyrics start "Severed," the fist cut on the latest from Steve Zing's Doomtree. He may conjure images of other legendary rock'n'roll bands, as he was the frontman for both Samhain and Son of Sam. His heavy rock vocals have thrust him into iconic status. Doomtree, in Zing's tradition, is not hemmed into musical limitations. The music bares resemblance to heavy punk rock, metal, progressive and even early rock'n'roll.
Down Below is heavy as all hell, yet retains a flexibility that allows upbeat punk infused songs like "Alive and Well" to flourish. The cut "Seven Lives" pulls the tone into the darkest, most detuned rollicking fun. The inheritance of punk rock has mostly been squandered on the emopopsicles, but Doomtree retains the crass, the simple and the hard without all that whining garbage. "Erotic" most clearly displays the roots of Doomtree. The cut could have come straight out of New York circa 1979 or Chicago 1988. The track recalls Agent Orange, Samhain and everything that's still possible with punk. Doomtree has a fine lineage of music, and with Steve Zing at the helm, Steve Falco on lead guitar, Danno on bass and backing the former Samhain vocalist, Ronnie Borje on the second guitar and John Caton on drums there is little to stop them.

Ben Harper and the Blind Boys Of Alabama - There Will Be A Light

Virgin/EMI

The light folk-soul of Ben Harper had been placed onto the gospel of the Blind Boys from Alabama on their Grammy winning Higher Ground album. The Weissenborn lap steel player takes the traditional sacraments of the Blind Boys and surrounds them with electric guitars, surging organ thrusts, funky basslines and steady percussion. The amalgamation of the gospel harmonies of the Blind Boys and this funky music stands as a significant recording. When the Blind Boys open their mouths and sing, the already apt music becomes simultaneously lighter and heavily laden with piety.
There is too much to say about this recording, but I think Ben said it best:
"When the Blind Boys of Alabama open their mouths to sing, What comes out is older than salvation, older than redemption. It is the sound of oppression and struggle. It is the sound of revelation and liberation. It is a sound as old as time. The Blind Boys of Alabama are the pyramids of Gospel music; The birthplace of sacred soul."
"The three original members of the group (which stared out in 1939, as The Five Blind Boys of Alabama) Clarence Fountain, Jimmy Carter, and George Scott, are all in their mid to late seventies, and are all completely blind. Jimmy and George blind from birth, and Clarence, the group's founder, from around age five. His stepmother tried to cure his eye infection with a "home remedy" and blinded him for life.
"I thank them for the singing lessons, and more importantly I thank them for teaching me that blessings are a privilege, not a birthright, and are never to be taken for granted."
The disc does its best job to reconcile the contemporary tact of Harper with the very rootsy and traditional feel of the Blind Boys. "Take My Hand" and "Church Steps" produce the finest examples of where the combination goes completely right. These are two songs that are not to be missed. "Well, Well, Well" takes the Blind Boys from the electric dazzelments of Harper into an acoustic space. Harper returns to his lap steel and accompanies the Blind Boys. The song is moving, authentic and makes the electric pop of the rest of the album seem overproduced. The a capella track "Mother Pray" exposes harmony's power in a lament filled song of loss and longing. The combination of Harper's band and the Blind Boys always produces a listen worthy song, and the album moves through gospel with a strong, yet gentle, restructuring hand. It is never better than on the subtle tracks, and the remaining full band songs are a delight as well.

The Motion Picture Soundtrack - Bewitched

Columbia/Sony Music Soundtrax

I don't like to throw around the phrase "Hollywood Trash," but I think it is about time to blow the dust from its jacket and toss it out of the window, at the coffeeshop and here. Hollywood Trash!!! But, we eat it up don't we. The box office blooms with rehashing of sitcoms and needless remakes. We had to endure the Flintstones, Dawn of the Dead and House on Haunted Hill, and, now, coming to a cinema near you, the exciting sitcom remakes! The invasion of the television on to the silverscreen is not a new phenomenon, but this is drastic. This summer not only will one be able to revisit the fantasy of having a housewife who is a witch (the implications of which are innumerable), but we, as a collective, are invited down south for a little all white fun in a gas guzzling, confederate flag sporting Dodge Charger; what a great use of time!
The appearance of these movies are an odd sign. Are they an expression of our collective need to revisit our fantasies of the past. Where does this nostalgia come from? Are the United States out of the optimistic youthful space, and now steeped in the need for a simpler past. Sure, there is no more free love, blue-plate specials, space, frontiers, postwar economic boom bolstered by a nearly fifty percent collegiate education level, but do we all have to watch a mediocre sitcom become a movie? We should look to the future. Nostalgia is great for Friday nights with old friends and cold beer, not for the cinema.
The soundtrack to Bewitched is a surprise from the somewhat lackluster premise of the movie. There are some great songs on the collection. "And She Was," David Bryne's swinging ode to a woman, makes an early appearance on the album. The Talking Heads' buoyant tone and pulsing tempo makes for a joyful break from the other tracks. Old Blue Eyes, rest his restless soul, tugs at heart strings and rolls out the swank for "Witchcraft." Another crooner, Steve Lawrence, follows Sinatra with "Bewitched." Ella Fitzgerald, in front of a full big band, sings "Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead." Not her best, yet probably her only witch focused song. Actual's "Dancing On The Perimeter" is an affable emopopsicle. Then, the gorgeous R.E.M. track slides through the backdoor and whispers, "Everybody Hurts." The sentiment of this thirteen year old song still feels fresh. Even the music feels fresh. The soundtrack is surprisingly good, and unsurprisingly witch focused.
Shelton's Single of the Week: R.E.M.'s "Everybody Hurts"

Compilation - Indiggo Child's New Bearth

Indiggo/Exile

The Indiggo Child record label has a stable of young artists in the reggae, hip-hop, R&B, dance, pop and reggaton genres. In an effort to introduce some of their talent, they have issued New Bearth. This volatile journey is commanded by producer Joe Wize, who's industry resume includes artist such as Faith, Groove Theory and Mobb Deep. The compilation includes tracks from: Natural, Morenito, Nardo Ranks, Kayla, La Magia Negra and Big Texx.
The opening track, "Just Bounce," moves with the fun and flanderous nature of a Crunk song without the simplicity. The track's production, though thick, is predictable, but the dance gleamed infusions are worth the listen. Natural has a way with words, and makes use of the rhyming couplet just as good as anyone. Nardo Ranks, Natural and Morentino take on "I Want To Dance With Somebody" to open their reggaeton monster, "Dance With Somebody." The track bounces far better than "Just Bounce." The island pulse and Nardo's vocals push this track near the memorable range. Kayla's "So Confused" brings her soulful voice to the forefront of the disc. The big beat track is bristling with bass and shakers, but her voice is never overpowered. Her cadence is wonderful as she moves from a full croon into a syncopated slam of syllables. This track makes Kayla a definite one to watch in the R&B and female vocalist category. La Magia Negra answers that nagging question of what Spanish hip-hop sounds like; it sounds good!

Bobby Pinson - Man Like Me

RCA Nashville/Sony BMG

Shooter Jennings, Steve Earle, Steven Griswold, Hank Floyd and Bobby Pinson are taking country back to its outlaw revolution of the Seventies. Sure, there may be roots rock, country-swing and rock infusions in each artists' music, but when it comes down to it, they are the outlaws of country. Bobby Pinson receives his title as an outlaw mostly through his pain, or cigarette stained vocal cords. The striking feature of "I'm Fine Either Way" is the gravel in the defiant voice of Bobby, as he sings "I'm one of those guys you either love or hate/ I'm fine either way." This pulls him right into outlaw territory.
His descent into the fiery pits of bar fights, bar stools and sinning is followed up with the redemptive "One More Believer." For a song about god and drunk revelations, it moves with a country-fried catch that is hard to ignore. "Don't Ask Me How I Know" is a great song to give to ten year old boy, and the rhymes are funny. On "Man Like Me," Pinson reaches for the soapbox and turns all of the trials of his life into second person commands; it beats confessional space, but sounds like the pulpit. "Ford Fairlane" takes in the banjo and moves away from the command style of preachiness. Pinson is not as Outlaw as Shooter, or even Shooter's roadie, but he is a kind of outlaw. He moves away from the confessional space, moves into the preach and has the scars to prove he wasn't always pious.

A Bluegrass Tribute - Pickin' On Nancy Sinatra

CMH

When Old Blues Eyes had a child, a certainty was set in motion that that child would have a recording contract. The cross-promotional opportunity was too much for the music business to stay away from. Nancy Sinatra is high kitsch. Her otherwise normal pipes were backed by Lee Hazelwood's production and three impeccable musicians: Hal Blaine, James Burton, and Larry Knetchel. Nancy has produced a number of somewhat noteworthy songs. 1966's hit "These Boots Were Made for Walkin'" typifies her sound.
Her go-go classic is accompanied by "Some Velvet Morning" and "Something Stupid" on Pickin' on Nancy Sinatra. This album provides a bluegrass take on a Sixties anomaly. The lightweight pop of Sinatra is redone in a bluegrass landscape where the boot actually has to be made for walking. The sounds of the banjo, mandolin and fiddle elevate these pop songs into a fantastic plane, where all can be bluegrass. In that space, Nancy Sinatra loses her modern vixenhood but gains a back porch.

Brad Davis - This World Ain't No Child Anymore

FGM

Brad Davis promises, or his PR company does, that he is much more than bluegrass. He is more than "just" bluegrass. He uses a phrasing straight out of popular country. That syncopation coupled with the terribly fast plucking on the banjo sends This World Ain't No Child Anymore into the space between the honky-tonk and the still.
Brad Davis cut his teeth through the eleven years he spent with Marty Stuart. He was also a member of Earl Skruggs' bluegrass band. He has spent two years with newgrass innovator Sam Bush, and, for the past four years, has spent time in Billy Bob ThorntonÕs rock band. He has also spent time on the road with Sweethearts of the Rodeo and the Forrester Sisters.
This World Ain't No Child Anymore focuses on love. There are several tracks with the L-word in them, nearly all to be exact. This is no detriment to the sound of Davis; he is sharp and clean. "All I Need To Know" pulses with a sound that can only come from a musically eclectic life. "Love You DonÕt Know," draws in with an ebb and flow of basslines and banjos. The lyrics move Brad Davis to a level that he holds till "Feet of Clay." His blend of blues inflections, country delivery, bluegrass harmonies and instrumentation, and rock'n'roll thrown in for good measure makes This World Ain't No Child a record of some note. This is bluegrass music that even those who claim to hate bluegrass could love.

Torche - Torche

Robotic Empire

This is the second album in that many weeks to set the listener in a rain storm. I wonder what that is all about? From precipitous beginnings Torche descends into a deluge of fuzz, drums and distortion. The sound is a hefty grind through the eardrums. Torche seems to derive much from the grindcore of the eighties and nineties, early Black Sabbath and the soaring vocal harmonies of more pop-focused bands, like the Beach Boys.
Torches's vocals are set back with the band's swirling sound. In that space the high-flying vocal arrangements accompany the most monolithic riffs. These elements combine to form a compound of massive proportions. The lumbering sludge of the opener "Charge of the Brown Recluse" is a harbinger for the coming rock'n'grind of tumultuous tracks, like the clamoring behemoth, "Menotre," and the head rockin', almost banging, harmonic guitar lines of "Rock It." Then there are the hook-festooned tunes like "Fire" and "Erase." These are thundering tracks of controlled chaotic noise. The harmonies create a sharp contrast between the controlled voices and the out of control riffs. Torche is an example of how to do hard and heavy correctly, and in a contemporary mode.

The String Cheese Incident - One Step Closer

SCI Fidelity [CD/DVD]

A friend once remarked, "I never would date a 'chick' that was into The String Cheese Incident." The flood of the One-Oh-One pulsed the red and white traffic into the city below the balcony where we were standing. I coyly replied, "Well, at least you know what you don't want." Relationships based on mutual appreciation or hatred of a band, a genre or a movement can be exciting and fulfilling, but eliminating a person because they like The String Cheese Incident seems ludicrous, especially in the light of their latest, One Step Closer.
This album represents a turn toward an easily consumed package for those who have not seen the band, or are not thrilled by their live performances. The jam band ethic of The String Cheese Incident has not left, but the basis on solos has been shuffled into the rear. One Step Closer has a more concise feel than 2003's Untying the Knot, and the tunes are more focused. The six minute rambles are gone, and in their place are more hook-based songs.
One Step Closer is in the spirit of other great jam bands: New Riders of the Purple Sage, the Grateful Dead and Phish, and that can be a trial for pop-heads. But, "Sometimes a River" and "Big Compromise" will surely be able to turn a pop-junkie into, at least, an appreciative listener. "Silence in Your Head" has the hooks, lines and depth to fascinate. The confluence of the piano, the guitar and calling vocals make this ballad an enjoyable listen, even if you can't date people who like jam bands. "Father" is set upon the edge of some grand chasm featuring the most uplifting lyrics on the collection: "Sometimes you have to dare yourself/ to make it good for someone else... Now you feel like you're living/ And you're breaking down those walls/ Really feel like you're giving/ It's not a lost cause." There is not one lost cause on One Step Closer. The album may be "hippy stuff," but the good-time, highway-bound groove on "Drive" masks it well. My friend may have to add a caveat to his rule on dating.

Robert F. Williams - Self-Defense, Self-Respect & Self-Determination (as told by Mabel Williams)

AK Press/ Alternative Tentacles

In nineteen fifty-four, when Brown versus the Board of Education removed the vicious lies of "Separate but Equal," the so called equality was a hoax. Thanks to Justice Marshall, and many many others, finally that lie was expelled like the exhaust of the seventeen bus on its way to Junior High School 115. That bus carried the first black students to attend our mostly white school in New York City. The school gladly accepted Latin students at that time. Tony Hill, my life long friend, and many others were bused from Harlem into Washington Heights. There "white" kids and "black" kids loved, feared, and befriended each other. The times were a-changin', and the actions of great civil rights and black liberation leaders, like Robert F. Williams, motivated and supported the struggle.
The fine people at AK Press have produced an audio record of Robert F. Williams. He was a civil rights worker and paradigm that will not be found in the average school textbook's civil rights section. The man recognized that the white oppressive forces were well armed and determined to keep blacks under the thumb of racism. Williams built international support for armed self-defense, resistance against the Klan and moneys for the struggle. Mable and Robert Williams took their struggle to the streets through newsletters, short-wave radio broadcasts and the dissemination of the "self-defense" ideology. The actions of Mable and Robert are events that need to be heard by all, especially young hip-hoppers. We truly appreciate AK Press for placing this extraordinary information in the public's eye. "I do not hate them because they are white. It is not because they are white, but it is because the way they act." -Robert F. Williams

Jesse McReynolds & Charles Whitstein - A Tribute to Brother Duets: From a Pair of Bluegrass Legends

Emergent/Pinecastle/Red

There are many exceptional bluegrass groups based on families, and a fewer number of brother duos. These dyads have produced memorable nights on bluegrass radio throughout the nightscape. Two of the genre's greatest "brother duets" were Jim & Jesse McReynolds and Charles & Robert Whitstein. These acts served as harbingers for the modernization of the music, and they ushered in an era of enduring popularity. As a member of the seminal duo Jim & Jesse and the originator of the unique "cross picking" attack on the mandolin, Jesse McReynolds is revered as one of the musicÕs most innovative and prolific players. Charles Whitstein is one-half of the Grammy-nominated Whitstein Brothers. He carried on the classic duet singing in the spirit of fraternity and the traditions of the Louvins.
The loss of their respective brothers held these legends on the precipice of tossing their instruments into the sheen. However, they saw the light and have come together in a very special reclamation of the duet space, where they flourished. The duets are the sweetest bluegrass music to come out this years. The focus is on the bond of brothers, and the wondrous songs that were produced in their respective duos.

Come and Go - Shinebox

Stilletto/Purify

If the alt. country of Nashville can be overgeneralized as a roots focused subgenre, than the Los Angeles faction of alt.country can be said to look to the energy of pop, punk and rock for focus. Come and Go certainly takes the energy of an uptempo strain of rock'n'roll, and they attend the Chaparral school of country. They, alongside bands like Hank Floyd and Idaho Falls, have been the staple of L.A. clubs for the last few years. The blend of country swing, rock energy and a focus on subject matter closer to the concrete heart of most Angelenos packs the house at the Whiskey A Go Go on a Friday night.
Come and Go is led by brothers Shannon and Shane Hudson. These two had written the songs for Shinebox prior to the creation of the album. The opener, "Sugar" delivers a rocking yet melodic introduction to the band. "Someone for Me" oscillates with the force of a soaring rock song, as the roots of their sound become more and more evident throughout the album. Often the sound seems at odds with itself, though never without an enjoyable moment. If the guitars and beats could be placed under the voice of a punk rock vocalist, it would become punk rock with inflections of country. If a rock singer were to be there instead it would become rock. The only portion of Come and Go that is definitely country are the lead vocals. The collision of Country and alt. (punk, rock, folk, pop, roots, what-you-will) has produced several iterations of worth. Come and Go is one of the worthwhile offspring of these conjunctions. Shinebox displays the pop sensibilities of the Hudson Brothers, and surely will take them from KZLA to around the country in no time.

Pentangle - Basket of Light

Silverline/Sanctuary (CD/DVD)

In the late sixties, burgeoning British folk guitar virtuosos Bert Jansch and John Renbourn allied to produce one album under the name Bert & John. From this they enlisted the help of vocalist Jacui McShee, and recruited the rhythms of Terry Cox and Danny Thompson. Thus, the quintet Pentangle was formed. They produced several albums in this configuration, however, only three are considered essential: The Pentangle (1968), Sweet Child [Double Lp] (1968) and Basket of Light (1969).
Silverline and Sanctuary have reissued the last in that trio of essential listening for a British folk enthusiast. Basket of Light features the production of this band, who never misses a step, even in a fast paced swap of genres. Sweet Child is considered the pinnacle of their production. But, Basket of Light is definitively the most progressive and invigorating offering. The album is highlighted with several moving pieces: the buzzing jazz physics of "Light Flight," the emotive rendition of the traditional "Once I Had a Sweetheart," the reinvention of the girl-group hit "Sally Go Round the Roses" and "Springtime Promises," one of the finest original offerings from the band. These tracks defined the British folk scene for years, and should not be missed by a folkie, whether full-time or a causal one.

Abigail Washburn - Song of the Traveling Daughter

Nettwerk America (Release Date August 2nd)

A good friend and musician has a Washburn brick company brick in her office proudly displaying her last name. If the brick makes her proud to be related to a successful brick maker, then Abigail Washburns' Song of The Traveling Daughter will have her dancing around in no time. Her album displays her style, and it is simple and ethereal. Her voice remains in full focus as the music settles into a minimalist setting. The album runs an eclectic gamut of influences. Mountain rhythms are set about with stark instrumentation and, even, ancient Chinese melodies.
The first gem on the album is the old tyme bounce of "Coffee's Cold." The story of a broke, down and out soul is augmented with a quivering guitar and a clawed banjo. The tune belies the co-production of Bela Fleck and the inherent dance inducing rhythm of Washburn. "Eve Stole the Apple" steams like cooling brimstone, and from those ethers Abigail seethes with righteous indignation. Her evocative vocals are as fiery as they are sweet. "Eve Stole the Apple" exposes the eastern influences in her bluegrass-roots-just-plain-good music. The Yellow River flows through Abigail's tale of eve, but "Backstep Cindy/Purple Bamboo" stands directly in the shadow of the Blueridge mountains. They are inspiring tracks led by the claw hammering of Washburn. "Nobody's Fault But Mine" speaks volumes about resolution and independence, and closes those sentiments in a sparse banjo track that focuses on the entrancing vocals of Washburn. This is not bluegrass music. This is something much older and precious. Something much more universal and inviting.
Steve's Single of the Week: Abigail Washburn's "Nobody's Fault But Mine"

Elkland - Golden

Columbia

The absurdly young looking lineup of Elkland has the musical fetishes of a teen movie from the eighties, however, they have their moments. Elkland, named for a suburb of the band members' hometown, delivers an extremely dancey neo-wave sound, which is so infectious and virulently catchy one may have their songs stuck in one's head for hours without a respite. Hopefully, it will not be the limply longing "Everybody's Leaving." Golden opens with the breathy and swoony "Put Your Hand Over Mine." This song lines up the sound of Elkland. It is a severely dance-focused menagerie of authentic analog synths and saccharine sentiments.
The packaging to Golden sends the reader through the remarkably simple pop lyricism of the Elkland boys. This is one album where the transcription of the lyrics is not needed. Jon Pierce's over-aspirated vocals lead the airy quartet through twelve cuts. The songs are decidedly wimpy, unapologetically poppy with a trifle of romantic sentiment. Never is this mixture more over-the-top than on the closer, "We Share A Heart." "Its Not Your Fault" scales the beats per minute to rest above the one-hundred mark. The track utilizes a gloomy undercurrent to a rushing synth dandy and some simple lyrics: "Oh is it sane to say?/Is It Safe to say 'I Love You?'" The song, though painfully prosaic, carries a great sentiment of friendship. And that may be the best distillation of the Elkland sound: the boys have created a light puff pastry from of the heaviest emotions one can go through. Love is three lines, pain is four lines and the collusion of them is Golden.

Keith Anderson - Three Chord Country and American Rock & Roll

Arista Nashville

This album is supposed to be a big hit, and it was a winning item. And it was an award winning album; it receives the John Shelton Ivany Top 21 award for extremely long title in the country world. The red, white and blue lineage of Anderson comes through on the title, and opening cut "Three chord Country and American Rock & Roll. It calls for the listening public to "Keep it simple, y'all, in everything we do." The cut plods along with a metrical form that can only be described as skin-peeling. The violins, however, are rollicking, raucous and perfect. "Podunk" follows the opener, and it poses the question: "What else you gonna do out in Podunk?" Well, sing country and leave is the answer.
The disc meanders through the blues, rock and country, while lead through the decent vocals of Anderson. His vocals are best in the choruses, yet on the verses Anderson proves he is some kind of Podunk poet. The images of six pack swilling and Tom Petty in the tape deck rush through a song about a thinly veiled attempt to get a woman to let one pick her wild flowers as it were. "Every Time I Hear Your Name" pulls his lyricism into fertile territory. The song revels in loss and longing, and recollected scenes of love's first inklings. This is the best song on the album. The crass, provincial nature of the other tracks seem even forgivable for this disturbingly sober discussion of intimacy. The energy and personality of Anderson is undeniable, however, some songs receive his heart and other his beer-breath.

The Offspring - Greatest Hits

Columbia

When punk rock first came into the housing track I lived in, it came through two transmission vectors. First, it was the tape given to me by a good friend, Ricky Zellmen. The tape contained an energy and raw-style, I had never heard before. The Ramones, Youth Brigade, Screeching Weasel, Stiff Little Fingers, the Descendants, Agent Orange and the Circle Jerks came raging through the tape deck in the garage as we drank the Miller Lights left during a recent visit by my grandmother. The second was a compact disc of OffspringÕs Ignition given to me by Brent Carroll. The latter was ditched as the radio started to pound their 1994 release, Smash.
The title was prophetic, as the album garnered four million in sales, a huge feat for the then wholly independent Epitaph label. The ascent to Columbia on the 1997 Ixnay on the Hombre brought out the humor from this previously thrash focused group. This move to Columbia meant that the Offspring had officially "sold out," and one could be looked down up in punk circles for declaring allegiance to the flocks of football playing fans the Offspring now commanded. Nonetheless, the tunes became a guilty little pleasure.
Offspring, their first album on Nemesis has no songs on the Greatest Hits. Ignition, their finest album in my opinion, also has no tracks. Smash has three songs, all of which are worthy of a listen. The inclusions from Ixnay on the Hombre, "All I Want' and "Gone Away" are well worth the space. Americana offers up the disposable commentary on the American experience in the form of "Pretty Fly for a White Guy," "Why Don't You Get a Job?" and the metal focused, yet still in the same vein of the aforementioned, "The Kids Aren't Alright." "Original Prankster" is worthless. "I Want You Bad" is not half bad, and signals a return to their roots. "Defy" pulses with metal, and is a great inclusion as an Offspring fan will not have to buy the otherwise flaccid Orange County Soundtrack to get the cut. "Hit That" is a bizarre electro-punk-metal Frankenstein of modern American faults and social commentary as focused through the need to get laid. Yeah, me too. The Offspring have come a long way since their days in Orange County fighting with Face to Face. Seriously, Trevor Keith and Dextor Holland had mad beef in the day. The band has ascended to the heights of stardom through a savvy mixture of disposable pop tunes, which are immediately gobbled up, and real power-punk, circa 1996. The Greatest Hits catalogs most of the bandÕs career, but the Self-titled and 1993 release, Ignition, are completely untouched. A Greatest Hits means the recognizable songs. I just wish it meant the best songs from their production.