New Releases
Audio Bullys Generation. While certainly a decent outfit, AB are not ones to produce timeless classics. That being said, this release will apparently have at least one guest spot with Roots Manuva, making it worth hearing for at least that alone.
Jneiro Jarel Three Piece Puzzle. Jneiro is Ropeadopes secret weapon. A great new find and I suspect this will cater to not only the Ropeadope crowd, but also followers of artists like Jurassic 5 and Mod Def.
Stevie Wonder A Time 2 Love. I have not heard a note of this, but I am crossing my fingers. Stevie is a national treaure, whose last dozen years of output has been so tarnished compared to the 70s, when his light shone so bright. I do not expect another Songs in the Key of Life, or Innervisions, but I want something better than In Square Circle.
Boards of Canada Campfire Headphase. I still have not heard enough to decide what I think of these guys, but they appear to have this coming out.
Chris Botti Still in Love. Another Miles clone in tone, but lacking backbone. Botti makes very pretty sounding wallpaper music. Considerably more evolved and complex than true smooth jazz a la Kenny G (aka the anti-Christ), but often far under what he is capable of doing. To this, look for his contributions to BLUE with Bill Bruford, Tony Levin and David Torn for a real idea of what he is capable of when he pushes himself and is surrounded by musicians of superior caliber.
Simply Red Simplified. I have heard this is a greatest hits of a sort, with various re-records of classic tracks, and a few new ones. Given the better than expected results of Hucknall's last effort, Home, this one might be a good listen, although I still think SR really lost something with the departures of Fritz McIntyre and Tim Kellet.
Depeche Mode Playing the Angel. Their first in four years, this is rumoured to be a return to a more brooding, sullen Depeche Mode. Maybe Dave is back on horse, or maybe Martin finally realized how stupid his hair looks and the resulting depression brought them back to form. Who cares? This looks to be one of the better releases before the closing of 2005.
DVD Chick Corea & the Elektric Band Live at Montreux 2004 Chick Corea's electric output since his Return to Forever days have been largely unecessary. I would surmise this is as well.
Al Franken The Show Party Album Al Franken is also a big fat idiot. He isn't funny, and he isn't interesting.
Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra featuring Wynton Marsalis Don't Be Afraid...the Music of Charles Mingus. I suspect that Wynton trying to interpret Mingus will be much as his interpretations f Monk were; technically executed well, but utterly devoid of the spirit and unbridled adventure that compositions of Mingus would demand.
Tim Garland If the Sea Replied. I have no idea who else is on this and what its premise is, but I have enjoyed Garland in his roles with Geoff Keezer and as the latest brassman in Bill Bruford's Earthworks. He is a decent sax player and good at arrangement, so hopefully this won't disappoint.
Goapele Change It All. Just buy it. She is one of the Bay Areas best kept secrets. A soulful, sweet voice that fits well between your Me'shell N'degeocello and Mary J. Blige recordings.
Ashlee Simpson I Am Me. We know you are you. We have been trying to avoid you, but you keep showing up, mostly on Saturday Night Live, but at least now you did it without a backing track. That being said, your first single still sucks, as does most likely the rest of this album, which appears to look like your debut, mark II.
The Fixx The Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Anthology is a 2CD retrospective. There are numerous compilations of Fixx hits and rarities out there, but this one looks to be the most canonical and best sequenced of the lot. The Fixx are still going, and while their new material is admirable, one really has to credit them with making one of the smartest pop music of the New Wave era. Cy Curnin has always been one of the better vocalists to emerge from that period, and Jamie West-Oram belongs right up there with U2s Edge and Charlie Burchill of Simple Minds for his use of minimalist, open structures on guitar, rather than just aimlesss wankery.
Funkadelic will be reissuing a ton of their albums, including Cosmic Slop, America Eats Its Young, Standing on the Verge of Getting It On, and the uber important ichiban supabad Maggot Brain. Buy them all. Twice. Send the extras to friends who need some funk in their lives. Everyone should.
There is also supposedly a trio of DVDs coming out from Nina Simone, Ella Fitzgerald and the ever watchable Frank Zappa. Whether it is newly unearthed material or archival reissues I am not sure yet.
Jneiro Jarel Three Piece Puzzle. Jneiro is Ropeadopes secret weapon. A great new find and I suspect this will cater to not only the Ropeadope crowd, but also followers of artists like Jurassic 5 and Mod Def.
Stevie Wonder A Time 2 Love. I have not heard a note of this, but I am crossing my fingers. Stevie is a national treaure, whose last dozen years of output has been so tarnished compared to the 70s, when his light shone so bright. I do not expect another Songs in the Key of Life, or Innervisions, but I want something better than In Square Circle.
Boards of Canada Campfire Headphase. I still have not heard enough to decide what I think of these guys, but they appear to have this coming out.
Chris Botti Still in Love. Another Miles clone in tone, but lacking backbone. Botti makes very pretty sounding wallpaper music. Considerably more evolved and complex than true smooth jazz a la Kenny G (aka the anti-Christ), but often far under what he is capable of doing. To this, look for his contributions to BLUE with Bill Bruford, Tony Levin and David Torn for a real idea of what he is capable of when he pushes himself and is surrounded by musicians of superior caliber.
Simply Red Simplified. I have heard this is a greatest hits of a sort, with various re-records of classic tracks, and a few new ones. Given the better than expected results of Hucknall's last effort, Home, this one might be a good listen, although I still think SR really lost something with the departures of Fritz McIntyre and Tim Kellet.
Depeche Mode Playing the Angel. Their first in four years, this is rumoured to be a return to a more brooding, sullen Depeche Mode. Maybe Dave is back on horse, or maybe Martin finally realized how stupid his hair looks and the resulting depression brought them back to form. Who cares? This looks to be one of the better releases before the closing of 2005.
DVD Chick Corea & the Elektric Band Live at Montreux 2004 Chick Corea's electric output since his Return to Forever days have been largely unecessary. I would surmise this is as well.
Al Franken The Show Party Album Al Franken is also a big fat idiot. He isn't funny, and he isn't interesting.
Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra featuring Wynton Marsalis Don't Be Afraid...the Music of Charles Mingus. I suspect that Wynton trying to interpret Mingus will be much as his interpretations f Monk were; technically executed well, but utterly devoid of the spirit and unbridled adventure that compositions of Mingus would demand.
Tim Garland If the Sea Replied. I have no idea who else is on this and what its premise is, but I have enjoyed Garland in his roles with Geoff Keezer and as the latest brassman in Bill Bruford's Earthworks. He is a decent sax player and good at arrangement, so hopefully this won't disappoint.
Goapele Change It All. Just buy it. She is one of the Bay Areas best kept secrets. A soulful, sweet voice that fits well between your Me'shell N'degeocello and Mary J. Blige recordings.
Ashlee Simpson I Am Me. We know you are you. We have been trying to avoid you, but you keep showing up, mostly on Saturday Night Live, but at least now you did it without a backing track. That being said, your first single still sucks, as does most likely the rest of this album, which appears to look like your debut, mark II.
The Fixx The Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Anthology is a 2CD retrospective. There are numerous compilations of Fixx hits and rarities out there, but this one looks to be the most canonical and best sequenced of the lot. The Fixx are still going, and while their new material is admirable, one really has to credit them with making one of the smartest pop music of the New Wave era. Cy Curnin has always been one of the better vocalists to emerge from that period, and Jamie West-Oram belongs right up there with U2s Edge and Charlie Burchill of Simple Minds for his use of minimalist, open structures on guitar, rather than just aimlesss wankery.
Funkadelic will be reissuing a ton of their albums, including Cosmic Slop, America Eats Its Young, Standing on the Verge of Getting It On, and the uber important ichiban supabad Maggot Brain. Buy them all. Twice. Send the extras to friends who need some funk in their lives. Everyone should.
There is also supposedly a trio of DVDs coming out from Nina Simone, Ella Fitzgerald and the ever watchable Frank Zappa. Whether it is newly unearthed material or archival reissues I am not sure yet.
posted by theloniusfunk at 7:15 AM
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