Audioholic Media

»Album Reviews For Release Date: 11.17.09
by Joshua Krage

As I have stated in weeks past, new releases in general usually taper off into the holidays, but not before a few last big name pushes from all the major labels to get you into stores to buy their product. This week is ample evidence of that — aside from all the blatant dollar-grab “deluxe editions” of stuff you already own, new LPs from a double-digit host of hit makers provide a myriad of possible stocking stuffers for the whole family. Coincidentally, while many of these artists I consider to be avoidable Top 40 throwaways, there are more than a few coming out this week that I actually quite enjoy and have detailed why below. Do enjoy them with me, won’t you?

Kris Allen (AmIdol)
Anberlin – hits
Annie
Shirley Bassey
Justin Beiber
David Bowie – Space Oddity 40th Anniversary
Blood Brothers
Jeremy Camp – live
Jose Carreras
Casting Crowns
Sheryl Crow – Tuesday Night Music Club Deluxe Ed. 2 CD/DVD
Delirious? – hits
Dirty Vegas – live
Fall Out Boy – hits
Forever the Sickest Kids

Sara Groves, Fireflies and Songs – she’s a really, really, ridiculously good and personal singer-songwriter from the songcraft side of the contemporary Christian music genre with a fragile and honest voice. I can’t find anywhere to sample this album, but if you want a song to burrow into your heart and tell you what needs changing, she’s the one who’ll most likely be singing it.

Indigo Girls – live DVD

Norah Jones, The Fall – though most people found out about this jazz-informed chanteuse through the smooth sounds of her debut LP and jazz-club marketing, she came up out of the New York culture and has always worked with eclectic artists and sounds. Her style has steadily progressed publicly toward where’s she secretly been all along: a multi-cultural layering of singer-songwriter jazz, acid-edged pop, and subtle crossover flavor. She keeps a seasoned lineup of NY’s finest sidemen on retainer, but the best addition to this album is Jacquire King, whose production has helped Kings of Leon, Jars of Clay, and Modest Mouse to sound like themselves without any fancy adornments. The sound throughout these tracks is deep and three dimensional with just the right amounts of echo or delay adding the slightest bits of enhancement — unusual for a pop/jazz artist, but, as stated, this is no usual artist. This album edges ever closer to alternative, anchored by Jones’ solid-yet-soft familiar croon. Her songwriting is a marked progression forward as well, with the album boasting all quality originals, only a handful of which were collaborations (with noteworthies like Ryan Adams, Jesse Harris, and Okkervil River’s Will Sheff). You don’t have to be ashamed to be a Norah Jones fan these days — she’s rediscovering her indie cred in understated, enjoyable fashion.

Keane – Hopes and Fears Deluxe Ed.
Kid Sister
Artie Lange

Leona Lewis, Echo – firstly, just to get it out of the way, if you’re one of the millions of her fans, you won’t be disappointed by the official sophomore album from this UK crossover pop phenomenon. Plenty of big, melodious hooks and huge production, all shimmering and swelling at the most emotive moments, Lewis’ voice is simply amazing in any setting. That being said, you can’t help but wonder what she’d sound like without all the studio layers surrounding her, since it is her voice (on every track, regardless of how much orchestration or how many stacked guitar layers swirl ’round) that is the focal point, the most attention-grabbing presence of any song, any room, any geographical location in which it is heard — but I digress. You don’t need me to tell you she’s a good singer or that this album (aside from her having co-written most of the tracks) has so much commercial expectation attached to it that every hit songwriter from here to Scandinavia was called in to write and produce its contents and ensure its economic viability. I’m simply pointing out that, beneath all the hype and advertisement, there’s a great singer with decent sensibility enough to make these tracks memorable far beyond their inherent melodies and pop chord progressions, and that’s the kind of pop star I want to succeed.

John Mayer, Battle Studies – I’ll admit it: I’m a John Mayer fan. Not because he gained popularity with songs like “Your Body Is a Wonderland” or “Daughters,” but because he makes fun of himself for gaining popularity with songs like those, and his last LP (2007′s Continuum) was a rock-solid soul homage in the spirit of Sam Cooke or Al Green with killer guitar playing and honest, hipster-clever lyrics. These last two traits are still present on Battle Studies, but overall the album’s kind of a downer — it seems like on every song he’s talking about love lost, love pursued, love faked, loneliness, and being alone, all while trying to keep it poppy enough to play on radio. Indeed, the only true upbeat moments come on a duet with Taylor Swift (though still a lament about love) and on a killer cover journey to the “Crossroads,” given a grinding guitar groove that’s easily the most infectious thing on this whole body of work. The rest of the LP still a deft lyrical and musical examination of heartache and cold-blooded, city-fied modern romance and has plenty of heartfelt and soul-searching moments; sadly, there’s just not much of a light at the end of this album’s tunnel, just a lonely, trendy sofa and half-empty bottle of scotch in a hip New York loft.

Paul McCartney – live in NY 2 CD, 1 DVD
Steve Morse Band
Motley Crue – more hits, again, part 13
OCR – Shrek: The Musical
OneRepublic

Katy Perry, MTV Unplugged – only seven songs but a pretty decent-enough change-up on half of them,and a surprise cover (Fountains of Wayne? Really? Sweet!) thrown in for good measure. Incurably mainstream though she may be now, Perry got her start playing acoustic shows at places like The Mint and Hotel Cafe, so this concept is kind of an ace in the hole for her. lus if MTV can get this franchise going again, maybe we can get some of these Top 40 sugar-fest songs in versions that don’t give us cavities.

Pretty Ricky
PuffyAmiYumi
Pulp – reissues

Stereophonics, Keep Calm and Carry On – carrying on a consistent string of muscular UK alt.rock even after their surprisingly impressive hits collection last year, Kelly Jones & Co. keep the ready riffs and gravelly rock yowl coming on this new set of songs which I’m not sure is actually hitting U.S. shores yet, but keep a lookout for it soon if it’s not out already.

Rod Stewart – Storyteller 4CD Deluxe Ed.

Them Crooked Vultures, Them Crooked Vultures – oh boy, this band and this album are enough reasons to get excited even before hearing a note of it. Let’s count them off: 1) three legendary musicians (Josh Homme, Dave Grohl, John Paul Jones) collaborating; 2) Dave Grohl on the drum kit; 3) three of the greatest riff-writers in rock and roll history; 4) Josh Homme getting to stretch out with his considerable guitar skills even more; 4) JOHN PAUL JONES!!; 5) no commercial motivation, just awesome musicians enjoying making top-shelf rock music… ahh, I could go on and on. For any uninformed readers out there, while most of Led Zeppelin’s catalog is usually credited to Page/Plant, Jonesy is responsible for a hefty share of those timeless riffs (“Black Dog,” “Misty Mountain Hop” and “The Ocean” come to mind). That would be good enough on its own, but Josh and Dave have also had some modest successes of memorable riffage in their share of rock bands, so put them all together in one band and it’s Gargantuan Rock-Riff City. And I don’t even need to say anything about Dave Grohl on the drums, I know of no greater John Bonham disciple on the planet, one who understands both the thundering crash and the masterful restraint necessary to bring maximum groove and precision to even the most basic of tracks. His expertise is well-utilized here, and it’s great to hear that thick, meaty snare drum on some new recordings at long last. His groove locks dead into John Paul Jones’ veteran bass/keyboard mastery, and if you’ve already seen them live (you bastard!! lucky) then you’ve already witnessed a rhythm section without peer in this day and age. On top of all this, both Jonesy and Homme bring their dazzling improvisational chops to the table and let loose with some killer instrumental guitar and key sections all over this. Now Josh Homme is no Robert Plant, but he bridges the gap between classic and modern alt.rock by bringing his distinct vocal style to these tracks, and the songwriting is wry and acerbic enough to get everybody on board. Really, I just can’t say enough about how good this album came out — great riffs, great songwriting, incredible overall musicianship and an especially deft synergy between the band members. A must buy for rock fans, and a meaty, muscular reminder of what real rock music should sound like.

Tricky – Maxinquaye 2 CD Deluxe Ed.
Paul Weller – Paul Weller 2 CD Deluxe Ed.

Phil Wickham, Heaven and Earth – I’m constantly impressed by this contemporary Christian singer-songwriter, not just for his work in the CCM genre, but for how his songwriting and production more than hold up to mainstream standards, surpassing them in many instances. This album’s concept is in the title, with Heaven occupying much of the imagery on most of the tracks. The songs are solid, sung in his amazing, wavering tenor, and backed with some electronic instrumental layering this time around. Not as much guitar playing on this album (sadly, as he is a stellar player and arranger with killer tone) which both helps and hurts the songs, but it’s Wickham’s voice which is the focal point on every track. If you can find it, there’s an acoustic version of the album with him performing every track accompanied by only his acoustic guitar where his voice really shines. It’s a shame this artist will most likely only ever be relegated to the contemporary Christian genre, his voice and songs are a real find.

Robbie Williams
Frank Zappa – reissues

As I said, lots to be excited about and to save your Christmas money for (or to buy after the holidays with all those gift cards you’re sure to get from some distant relative). And the best part is there are still some winners on the horizon if the gold this week wasn’t enough to consume all your discretionary income. See you when I read you…

P.S. If you should wish to hear some of the high points of this week’s list, tune into my MySpace Page for a playlist. Enjoy.

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