New Releases
Mary J. Blige - The Breakthrough is far from its namesake, but MJB does not have to make one. Hers is always well crafted and blessed with that great voice.
Goapele (surname Mohlabane) gives us her much needed sophomore effort, Change It All, and marks her major label debut on Sony. She is one of the most slept on soul singers in recent years, and far outstrips contemporaries like Ashanti or Mariah. She dos not necessarily have the vocal range of the latter or the big names behind both, but she has truly original sounding material and a real understanding of how to work a studio (not only is she a Berklee grad, but has built her own studio where she can work in relative isolation to experiment at her leisure, unfettered by external pressures -- an atmosphere that this record reflects). Some folks that pop up include Dwele and Linda Perry.
The Notorious B.I.G. Duets is the latest shameless milking of a catalog. While I can be hopeful that something good will rise out of this, I am wary.
The second DVD by Rush drummer Neil Peart is coming out. Anatomy of a Drum Solo is a dual disc how to on making a drum solo musical instead of just aimless bashing. While there are drummers with more chops in rock (albeit not many) there are almost none with as strong a musical sense as Peart, who over the decades has made a habit or constructing memorable and often inventive percussion pieces that qualify as one man ensemble works.
Bo Bice, that homunculus dork from American Id(iot)ol subjects us to The Real Thing. To prove he is worthy of perpetual hatred, he brings along guests from Evanescence, Nickleback and Bon Jovi. The only real thing about this album is how really dumb you have to be to record it.
Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan team up to put out an EP of sorts, Ramblin' Man. I have no idea what this is going to sound like, but Lanegan's output over the past few years has been of superior quality, so here is to hoping.
Goapele (surname Mohlabane) gives us her much needed sophomore effort, Change It All, and marks her major label debut on Sony. She is one of the most slept on soul singers in recent years, and far outstrips contemporaries like Ashanti or Mariah. She dos not necessarily have the vocal range of the latter or the big names behind both, but she has truly original sounding material and a real understanding of how to work a studio (not only is she a Berklee grad, but has built her own studio where she can work in relative isolation to experiment at her leisure, unfettered by external pressures -- an atmosphere that this record reflects). Some folks that pop up include Dwele and Linda Perry.
The Notorious B.I.G. Duets is the latest shameless milking of a catalog. While I can be hopeful that something good will rise out of this, I am wary.
The second DVD by Rush drummer Neil Peart is coming out. Anatomy of a Drum Solo is a dual disc how to on making a drum solo musical instead of just aimless bashing. While there are drummers with more chops in rock (albeit not many) there are almost none with as strong a musical sense as Peart, who over the decades has made a habit or constructing memorable and often inventive percussion pieces that qualify as one man ensemble works.
Bo Bice, that homunculus dork from American Id(iot)ol subjects us to The Real Thing. To prove he is worthy of perpetual hatred, he brings along guests from Evanescence, Nickleback and Bon Jovi. The only real thing about this album is how really dumb you have to be to record it.
Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan team up to put out an EP of sorts, Ramblin' Man. I have no idea what this is going to sound like, but Lanegan's output over the past few years has been of superior quality, so here is to hoping.
Aeon Flux the movie is out, and reviews have ben mixed, but the score by Graeme Revell is also being released, and Revell is usually super solid, and can incorporate synthesizers with symphonics with relative aplomb, as evidenced on scores for The Craft and The Negotiator.
Live at Madison Square Garden is a 3 cd cluster of hippy-dippy noodling and vapid stoner ear-fuel by Phish. No, I don't like Phish and their spiritual predecessor, the Dead. I also like clean air, clean clothes, clean hair, and not smelling like patchouli. 3 cds? You'd have to be stoned to stomach it.
posted by theloniusfunk at 5:43 AM
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