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California
Nobody ever accused Mr. Bungle of being suckers for a good melody. The syncopated blasts of cartoonish noise that fill 1991's Mr. Bungle and 1995's Disco Volante are one part speed metal and one part Speedy Gonzalez. Initially, the band served as a more aggressive outlet for singer Mike Patton, widely known for his work in Faith No More. But with Faith No More no more, Patton and Mr. Bungle decided to sweeten the Bungle batter with a little songcraft. California boasts harmonies (yes, harmonies!) that would make the Brothers Wilson proud. Opening with a chorus of seagulls and crashing waves that gives way to slide guitar, strings, and Patton singing (not screaming), the poppy yet symphonic "Sweet Charity" announces that this is not your bike messenger's Mr. Bungle album. Songs like the easy strummin' "Retrovertigo," the sultry Scott Walker-esque "Pink Cigarette," and the orchestral "Vanity Fair" make California 1999's golden-hair surprise. Click here for more information or to order this CD.
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Mock Tudor
This item will be released on August 24, 1999. You may order it now and it will ship it to you when it arrives. Few musical charms compare with those of Richard Thompson's better albums. Mock Tudor easily ranks amongst them, thanks in part to inventive producers Tom Rothrock and Rob Schnapf, who help strike a melodious balance between Thompson's genre-hopping instrumental subtleties and the gritty rave-ups that characterize his full-flail live shows. Together again with Fairport drummer Dave Mattacks and bassist Danny Thompson (and with help on guitar and vocals from son Teddy), Thomspon is set free. There's a delightful, modal minisolo on "Sibella"; "Uninhabited Man" finds the former student of Sufism holding down a Led Zep-ish Eastern groove; and every other song is a subtle, midtempo, sure-fire hit in an alternate universe. Lyrically, Thompson sticks to dark-side-of-the-street subject matter; the majority of the songs describe a relationship gone over the edge or about to (Elvis Costello is Thompson's only peer when it comes to charming, post-Dylan misanthropy in song). Women are goddesses ("Cooksferry Queen"), a bad match ("Sibella," "Two-Faced Love"), evil temptresses ("Bathsheba Smiles," "Hard on Me"), and about to dump the protagonist any second now ("Crawl Back Under My Stone")--and that's just the first six songs! When Thompson sings on "Bathsheba," "People speak my name in whispers--what higher praise can there be," the singer/songwriter might well be describing himself. Click here for more information or to order this CD.
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Post Orgasmic Chill
This item will be released on August 10, 1999. You may order it now and it will ship it to you when it arrives. Click here for more information or to order this CD.
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Return Of The Grievous Angel:
Tribute To Gram Parsons
The gentle hand of Emmylou Harris guides this tribute to ill-fated country-rock avatar Gram Parsons, which goes a long way toward explaining why this star-studded salute avoids the pitfalls that befall many such projects. Harris got her start harmonizing with the patron saint of alternative country, contributing mightily to Parsons's two early 1970s solo albums and reviving selections from his small-but-indispensable oeuvre throughout her career. She has a vested interest in finding a true connection between her former benefactor and this cast of Parsons partisans. Here she bands together a flock of followers who range from obvious offspring (Wilco, Gillian Welch, Whiskeytown) to not-so-evident disciples (Beck, Pretenders, Sheryl Crow). Parsons's partner in the Flying Burrito Brothers, Chris Hillman, teams with Steve Earle on "High Fashion Queen," and David Crosby (like Parsons and Hillman, an ex-Byrd) joins Lucinda Williams on "Return of the Grievous Angel." Harris harmonizes with Beck on "Sin City" and shares the mic with Crow on "Juanita," one of the collection's highlights. Ultimately, Harris has assembled a homage that would've pleased her old mentor. Click here for more information or to order this CD.
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The Gasoline Age
This item will be released on August 10, 1999. You may order it now and it will ship it to you when it arrives. Click here for more information or to order this CD.
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The Soft Bulletin
The Flaming Lips' particular and peculiar genius comes
to full fruition on the stupendous The Soft Bulletin. Anyone who had
the gumption to actually listen to Zaireeka, a song cycle that could
only be heard by playing four CDs at the exact same time on different
stereos, knows that head Lip Wayne Coyne and his Oklahoma City brethren
had it in them. That album, along with the Lips' Parking Lot Experiments,
offered proof that Coyne wasn't playing by the same rules as everyone
else. He was growing up and away from the splenetic psychedelic freak-outs
of earlier albums and emerging as a first-rate composer--perhaps the
first alt-rock star to earn such status. It'll be interesting to hear what the Lips do next. If The Soft Bulletin is any indication at all, they can do anything they please. And we can't possibly imagine what it will sound like. Click here for more information or to order this CD.
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This Time
Most bands who've soldiered on for as long as Los Lobos find that middle-age brings a laissez-faire bargain between fame and nostalgia that makes it all too easy to coast into the sunset comfortably seated on their laurels. What's so compelling about Lobos in the 1990s and beyond is their steadfast refusal to succumb to any such temptation. This Time marks the third chapter in their collaboration with producers Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake that yielded the outstanding and surprising Kiko and Colossal Head. It's easily their most adventuresome, category-confounding outing yet. Time often bravely veers into the strange, liberating ethos espoused by Blake, Froom, and Lobos mainstays David Hidalgo and Louis Perez on their deliciously skewed side-project, Latin Playboys. The title track seems to slyly segue in from nowhere, "Oh Yeah" lopes into a dreamy jazz subtly punctuated by Blake's studio percussion, and "Some Say Some Do" manages a dark new techno-twist on the blues. The gritty riffing on "Viking" and "High Places" prove that the band's love affair with Hendrix is no passing fancy. Even the Latin stylings of "Cumbia Raza," the sexy "Corazon," and the playful "La Playa" get a good studio tweaking. Those who expected Los Lobos to churn out endless permutations of "La Bamba" may be disappointed at this stereotype-resistant exploration. But those who relish true adventure and master musicianship are going to very happy indeed. Click here for more information or to order this CD.
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Viva El Amor!
Chrissie Hynde is back to kick some ass. ¡Viva el Amor!, the Pretenders' first studio album since 1994's Last of the Independents, provides a reading on the singer's state of mind and relationships. Hynde and company--stalwart drummer Martin Chambers and an assortment of complementary players--take the energy level to breathtaking heights, especially on "Legalise Me," which matches Jeff Beck's incendiary guitar work against our heroine's rapid-fire delivery. Hynde shows that she can still sneer with the best of them on "Popstar," her biting send-up of late-'90s girl singers (and reportedly a roman à clef aimed in part at Patsy Kensit, who was once married to Hynde's former husband, Simple Minds' Jim Kerr). "Baby's Breath" skewers a young lover and showcases her sangfroid vocals at their chilling best. Hynde pours on more vitriol in "Biker," the record's final cut, which pairs steel-hard lyrics with an incongruously sweet string section. Nearly two decades after the release of the Pretenders' landmark debut, the Great Pretender is still feeling feisty. Click here for more information or to order this CD.
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