A Collection Of Quickie Record Reviews

Last weekend was the best week of new music all year.  With new releases from the likes of the Beach Boys, The Hives, Joe Walsh, Alan Jackson and even Joe Bonamassa (can never get his name right GD it).  This week promises the new Rush album (slated for review) and sometime down the road the new Delta Moon.

While critics rave about Patti Smith's Banga album, I find it a chore to listen to, even from the confines of Moondog Music, including the 10 minute segment Constantine's Dream which would garner plenty of airplay if underground radio was still around.  It also shows how great Patti is for improvising on the spot, it's one of those songs that you hate at first but then like it later.  But I'll give it a good recommendation on a song that includes inspiration (and a co write) from Sun Ra.  But it's not for everybody.

While Chet Flippo raves about Americana, the new Neil Young/Crazy Horse album, I tend to agree more with All Music Guide of being thrown together of the songs that Neil wanted to do and do in one take.  Oh Susanna the best version and the rest just plain sloppy even for Crazy Horse standards.  As a N.Y fan it might be the least interesting album of his long career and that includes Silver And Gold or Are You Passionate.  Plus it comes in a crappy digipack.

Alan Jackson-30 Miles West (EMI)  is country the way it used to be back in the early 90s before the trailer trash rock, mohawks and bad tattoos took over and Alan employs plenty of steel guitars, a bit of banjo here and a generous amount of fiddles everywhere.  Keith Stegall has been the producer of choice.  Heard complaints that Freight Train was too polished but I doubt that although 30 Miles West is a bit less polished for the radio.  Alan woops it up with Zac Brown on the 7 minute Dixie Highway and while Jackson writes the bulk of the songs the best ones come from outside songwriters, You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Crazy) and So You Don't Have To Love Me Anymore although Jackson's Look Her In The Eye and Lie shows that even he can write a breakup song with the best of them.  I still think he's never topped I'll Go On Loving You from 1998's High Mileage.

The big album deal was Joe Walsh's Analog Man (Fantasy)  and while Bob Lefsetz celebrated this album, I thought it was a bit boring at times and Jeff Lynne's 1992 production sound made this sound dated a day later.  Leads off with the title track which in 1978 would have been the perfect followup to Life's Been Good and Wrecking Ball but after that I really couldn't remember much the rest of the songs.  Joe says the best song was a extra track jam with Little Richard on piano but you'll have to get the deluxe edition to hear it.  Which pisses me off about paying extra for a deluxe edition with bonus tracks for five bucks more.  Best Buy has a exclusive edition to which you get bonus tracks, a 10 minute DVD and a T Shirt: Joe Walsh For President which might be worth the 22 bucks if you need a new T Shirt.

The Beach Boys-That's Why God Made The Radio (Capitol)  may be the sign of the end of the world coming.  Brian Wilson vowing never to work with Mike Love again years ago became a tour and then their first actual new album since 1985  (forget the 1991 Mike Love driven Summer In Paradise and Stars & Stripes Volume 1)  and their best since 1977's Beach Boys Love You.  Even for 70 year olds, the harmonies still sound good on the lead off  Think About The Days and the all too brief Pacific Coast Highway.  Like Van Halen, The Beach Boys came back against all odds and if they didn't tarnish their image, they actually took us back in time when the radio was king.  Before the evil Clear Channel/Cumulus takeover that is. Joe Thomas, the producer talks about recording that album http://andrewromano.tumblr.com/joethomasbeachboys
4 years later:  I don't think the album sounds as vital as it once did four years ago, there's something creepy about Mike Love hanging around and throwing his nostalgic horse hockey against the sonic landscape of Brian Wilson but I think the mellowness tends to take the fun out of this.  It's a good album but if you're looking for the days of Sunflower (forget about Pet Sounds, that's 50 years ago) or 15 Big Ones this comes close to the latter album.  But it still earns a B Plus, simply of the fact that we won't expect much more from them, since they're over 70 and Mike Love still continues to flaunt more ego than song writing ability, especially after him booting Brian Wilson, Al Jardine and David Marks out of the band so he can earn a living on the oldies circuit.   And Love still remains more creepy than ever before too.

Alejandro Escovedo-Big Station (Fantasy) continues his partnership with Chuck Prophet and Tony Visconti producing the third straight album and even if this isn't as good as Street Songs Of Love or the radio ready sound of Real Animal it still kicks the crap out of the Boxing Mirror, not that album wasn't that bad.  I tend to like him rock out more than the reflective acoustic with cello band.  He gives Patti Smith a run for the money on the wordy Sally Was A Cop and I don't get the Sabor A Mi track at the end but in between Escovedo shows why he's good on San Antonio Rain and Party People.  This record might end up on my ten best of the year.

And The Hives  Lex Hives (Independent Label Group).  They're still around and they're still making albums that barely go over 30 minutes but I always had a love/hate with this band.  At times they were great enough for the hype and Lex Hives might be their best overall Cd although they tend to be too silly and too juvenile even on These Spectacles Reveal The Nostalgics  but you get Go Right Ahead and My Time Is Coming that reveal that The Hives can rock hard just as Jack White could with The White Stripes.  Hard to believe that The Hives have been around for over ten years and outlasted  the majority of the new garage acts that are now gone.

Grades:
Patti Smith-Bunga (Columbia) B+
Neil Young/Crazy Horse-Americana (Reprise) C+
Joe Walsh-Analog Man (Fantasy) C+
Alan Jackson-30 Miles West (EMI) B+
Beach Boys-That's Why God Made The Radio (Capitol) B+
Alejandro Escovedo-Big Station (Fantasy) A-
The Hives-Lex Hives (ILG) A-